A Matter of Honor and Debt
by EmbraceDiversity
Summary: Shameless. Disgusting. A monster. Never would he forgive himself for his moment of weakness, for almost murdering an innocent woman. He will do whatever it takes to atone - A life for a life. ItaHina, SasuNeji. Birthday fic for Lady Crack. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This fic be a birfdae fic for Lady Crack! It's so belated and I suck so hard at taking so long to even get this chapter out but hopefully she'll forgive me!

This story is ItaHina and it's a vampire story. It's actually loosely based off of a RPG I'm doing with someone and I thought it fitting for this couple. This will be a multichaptered fic, I don't expect it to go over 3-4 chaps.

I hope you like this Lady Crack! Happy belated birthday! :)

xxxxx

**1**

Only a grunt escaped him when his body slammed into the dumpster before landing with a hard thud on the cold wet concrete of a dark alley. For a long moment he didn't move, couldn't. His breathing was raspy and just thinking about moving was painful. Precious blood poured freely from deep, life-threatening wounds and panic began to fill him. He had lost too much, his wounds were fatal…he was going to die.

_Not like this._

He had only himself to blame for this. He had been told to wait for backup but he had gone ahead, thinking that the intruders were just common thugs of the Akatsuki clan. He had not expected Uchiha Madara, traitor and leader of said group, to be the one invading Uchiha territory with his top five warriors. He was dying but it had not been in vain; it would be a _very_ long time before Madara contemplated invading their lands again – there were few individuals who could harm or even defeat one of the strongest vampires to ever exist. Three of Madara's men were dead, one would probably die if the hole he had ripped in the other's throat didn't get mended and Madara himself had ended up fleeing the scene once it had been obvious that his enemy wasn't going to go down without taking some folks with him.

_I…I can't die like this._

Dying in an alley in the middle of downtown was not how he had envisioned his eventual death…especially when his safe house was only a few blocks away. How ironic, he was a stone's throw away from survival and he couldn't move. It wasn't even laughable.

'_Thump thump'_

He stiffens, head rising, normally dark grey eyes bright crimson at the sound of a heartbeat. His head tilts slightly, his predatory senses sharp due to his serious wounds and lack of precious life fluids. There was the faint scent of lilies and lilacs in the distance, he could hear faint footsteps. It was so late, probably close to midnight. More than likely it was a bum or some other individual doing things out here they probably shouldn't.

His clan did not take from the source, never had. For the Uchiha, taking from the source was a serious crime, punishable by death if severe enough. It was a law that Itachi had enforced strictly when he had ruled the clan and he had always believed very strongly in it, holding little sympathy for those who would slip up.

'_Thump thump'_

His incisors lengthened to sharp points and hunger beat heavily at him. He didn't want to die and he needed blood. Immediately. Somehow he was able to drag his body into a sit up position. His mind became hazy as hunger and fatigue hit him harder than anything he had ever felt before. The scent of flowers was getting stronger, the heart beat louder.

"_Thump thump. Thump thump.'_

"_Help me."_ He was surprised he could even use his Voice, he felt so tired and drained. His rich voice carried through the alley and he heard the heartbeat jump a bit in its pace. A fang pricked his tongue and the taste of blood made him almost mad with hunger. Screw laws, screw rules, he needed blood and he needed it _now_. Such a strong heartbeat, such a pleasant scent…

He heard a gasp and almost smiled, realizing it was a woman. All logical thought had left him, he was little more than the beasts of legend at this point; those vampires that acted on basic instinct and little else, savages on a good day. He licked cracked lips and tried to ignore the roaring in his ears. His vision was hazy, almost red. Standing at the end of the alley was a young woman in her early twenties holding a small bag of groceries. With his senses on high alert he could almost see the vein in her neck just _begging_ to be sucked dry. He welcomed the dark and twisted sensation filling him as he took in the young beauty.

Her hair was long and dark, perhaps even black. Her skin was pale and she was wearing some sort of waitress uniform. That explained why she was out so late. Her figure was slim and yet she had beautiful curves where they mattered. Her eyes seemed almost otherworldly, a pale lavender that seemed to almost glow like his crimson in the night.

Right now, the most beautiful thing about her to him was her _neck_.

He put more persuasion into his Voice "_Help me…"_ it was soft and with him desperate, terrified of dying, it was more powerful than it should have been given the circumstances "_Please…_"

Without a second thought she put the bag off to the side against the wall, rushing over to him. He could only imagine how he looked; Madara's cronies had been vicious, his body was a mangled mess and he was still bleeding profusely from wide open wounds. Her hand flew to her mouth for only a moment before she began to rummage through her purse "Oh, o-oh my gosh I…I have a cell phone, I'll call for help…"

The moment she was within reach his hand snapped out, slapping the phone away. She cried out in alarm but then that same hand closed over her mouth hard and with strength and speed he hadn't known he still possessed, he yanked her down to him and fangs sank almost ruthlessly into tender flesh. Delicious blood flowed freely from the vicious bite and down his throat. He gulped greedily, ignoring her whimpers and her shivering. He could immediately feel his wounds beginning to heal now that his body was taking in fresh blood.

_It's not enough._

Another whimper came from her just before she went limp. His strength returning, he moved into a kneeling position, wrapping his arms around her curvy body as he continued to drink from her. Blood did have a taste, depending on certain factors depended on how well it tasted to a vampire. In this case, her blood was perhaps the best thing he had ever tasted, but that could also be because he had been _dying_ and anything could taste amazing when you were dying to have it…literally. A small noise came from his throat and he realized that it still wasn't enough. He was going to need more, much more, and…

_Stop! Stop, she's going to die!_

A hard gasp, similar to someone coming up from underwater, filled the air as he tore his mouth from her throat, his hand moving to his mouth as he licked his lips, breathing ragged. He was still seriously wounded but he'd be able to make it back to his apartment now. As he forced his breathing to calm and the fresh blood began to flow freely through him, sustaining his life, he looked down at the woman in his arms and started. Were he not already pale he would have blanched. A myriad of emotions filled him, the biggest one being complete and utter _shame._

He…he had…

With a shaky hand, fingers brushed along her cold skin, trailing from her cheek to her bloodied neck where he had savagely bitten her in his bloodlust. Oh gods, he had…he _killed_ this girl…

'_Thump…thump…'_

Immediately he bent his head, placing his ear against her chest. No, she wasn't dead. Her heart was beating, but faintly. If he didn't do something, she would die. He couldn't take her to a hospital; for one she wouldn't make it. She needed blood _now_, he had taken way too much. Even if it were possible to do a transfusion, it probably wouldn't matter. She was going to die…he had killed a human and a girl no less.

_I'm a monster._ He would never be able to forgive himself for this. He had killed vampires for such crimes, had thought them foolish and weak for being unable to control their inner beast. He, who had always been able to control his urges no matter what, he who had been the biggest enforcer of this particular law had broken it just like that. He was worse than a monster, much worse. She was so young and he had robbed her of her life.

He couldn't even apologize, what good would that do, saying 'I'm sorry?' Her breathing was becoming shallower and he realized he needed to make a decision. There was only one way to save her, but it meant breaking another law. A big one.

_I must do it._ There was no choice, he couldn't let her just die in his arms, it wasn't even an option. With a sigh he spoke to her again "_Hinata,_" with her blood he was able to draw upon certain information, such as her name _"Hinata, I need you to sit up for me."_

Her eyes snapped open but her eyes were devoid of life. He resisted the urge to pull her close and offer her apologies that really wouldn't mean anything in light of the situation. With a grimace, he took his thumb and sliced his wrist, tilting her head back so that it dripped unhindered into her mouth _"You must drink."_

Slowly, her arms raised, hands gripping his forearms as she pulled his wrist to her mouth. She wasn't even conscious at the moment, he was using manipulation to force her body to move. When she had taken enough for a proper transformation he licked away the remaining blood, the wound already healing. He felt light headed and dizzy; he needed more blood and soon. He pulled her into his arms and with some effort he leaped into the air, landing on top of one of the roofs. Itachi staggered a bit and a curse left him.

There was only a fifty fifty chance that she would survive due to the amount of blood he had taken from her. He had never turned a human before, his clan did not believe in such practices, but he knew that much. If she didn't have a strong will to survive…

_Forgive me, if you live through this…my life will be yours._

A life for a life. If she survived, her life would never be the same again.

xxxxx

The moment he had finished tying her down to the bed white eyes had snapped open, flashing crimson. Immediately he casted a silence spell in the apartment right as she let out a blood curdling scream.

Even though he had lived for centuries, he had never honestly seen a transformation and he had to admit that he never wanted to see it again. The human began to thrash around so much that he feared the bindings would only hurt her. He found himself eventually having to straddle her, keeping her arms firmly pinned to the bed. Her expressions looked so unnatural; the memories he had of her from taking her blood all consisted of a soft smile and gentle gazes. In fact if he thought about it, she actually looked rather pretty under normal circumstances.

Previous guilt returned with a vengeance as he watched her incisors shift and lengthen to small points. Her eyes kept flashing from white to red, the latter color tended to happen when a vampire was under emotional stress of any sort. Bones were hardening, muscles were strengthening, her insides were changing to suit her new life.

The screams and thrashing continued for almost an hour. Each breath she took to scream again stabbed at his heart, every tear she shed tore at his insides.

_I did this to her._ Was all he could think the entire time. He would _never_ forgive himself for hurting her; for ruining her life.

The thrashing and screams abruptly stopped, her body going limp. When he noticed her chest wasn't moving he bent his head, placing his ear against her chest. Her heart wasn't beating.

_She didn't make it._

No.

Quickly, Itachi sliced through the cloth bindings and shifted his body so that he could pull her into his arms. She was limp and unmoving and he felt panic rising. She had to live, she _had_ to. Lips slid over the transforming human as he transferred some of his energy to her. Then he put every ounce of power he could into his Voice and whispered against her lips.

"_Hyuuga Hinata, you will breathe."_ It was not an option, she would not die by his hands...not this beautiful and innocent woman.

Pale eyes snapped open and she took in a hard gulp of air before going into a coughing fit. He held her close, inwardly breathing in a sigh of relief at the fact that he had saved her...even if her life was now ruined. She clung onto him helplessly, her body shaking, breathing uneven. He could hear her heart, however; solid and strong. Eventually the shaking stopped as her body finally settled and she drifted to sleep.

He had a lot of explaining to do when she awakened. He also had a lot of plans to make.

xxxxx

"Aniki, tell me you are joking." Sasuke's voice came in smooth but definitely held an upset tone to it "Or at the very least, tell me I'm hearing things; because the words you just spoke shouldn't even exist in the order you put them in." when there was silence Itachi's younger brother sighed over the phone line in frustration "This is the same thing you enforced with an iron fist –"

"I know, otouto." His sharp gaze shifted over to the young woman who was now lying down, back facing him, after their lengthy discussion. It was bad enough Hinata would not allow him to pursue the honorable path concerning her; now he had to deal with this. "I am prepared to face the consequences and I forbid you to make an exception for me because I am your brother. That was not how I raised you to run the clan."

Silence reigned for a long moment before the Uchiha clan head sighed "You don't run the clan anymore; I'll decide how to do this."

Itachi scowled "Sasuke –"

"I said, _no_." the other male snapped "You don't get it, do you? If you were anyone else I would order your death, you understand that? There would be no servitude to that girl, there wouldn't be her requesting your head because it'd already be gone. What you did..." he sighed, and the older brother could tell Sasuke was running a frustrated hand through his hair just by the shifting noises. More than likely, his eyes were probably crimson out of frustration.

He had told Hinata everything as he was currently doing with his brother, and the two of them weren't exactly seeing eye to eye. Itachi had expected her to reject his story about his race and about her new abilities. He had expected her to start screaming and try to escape. He had expected her to accuse him of ruining her life. She did none of those things; in fact she had seemed rather calm and understanding of that aspect of the story – something that had bothered him but he had decided to pursue it later. Not even the thought of taking blood had bothered her too much and she had refused mind control to make the transition easier. She had done well enough drinking blood from the thermos in the refrigerator and even politely declined taking directly from him although he had offered. No, the thing she was being disagreeable on was mind boggling to him.

He had offered her his death or eternal servitude for what he had done. A just and honorable solution.

She flat out rejected it. When he had insisted she eventually became so distraught she stopped speaking to him.

And now there was this.

He had known that the situation could have resulted in his death by the clan and would have been prepared for it as long as he could secure Hinata's future as a vampire. He had planned on having her be placed within the clan and asking Sasuke himself to look after her. While relieved that he would not be killed, he would not accept being completely let off the hook either. Not for this crime.

After a long moment of silence Sasuke spoke again "Alright, here's how we're going to do this. You said that the girl refused your efforts to atone for your actions?"

"Yes. She said she refused to have me submit to her as a slave or ask for my death. It was...an unpleasant argument."

"Then you will be her protector, since you're so adamant about this." Sasuke wouldn't argue with his brother concerning anything involving the other man's honor, as brothers they had an understanding when it came to that "Watch over her and protect her. You might as well, since you turned her anyway." A pause "You said she didn't freak out when you told her about the clan and our race?"

"That is correct." He smiled slightly at the confused tone in Sasuke's voice "I was also confused; she seemed to accept everything so readily, claiming that based on everything that had happened and by my mannerisms that she didn't think I was lying to her. She is a strange human."

"Hn. You said the last name was Hyuuga?" he sounded thoughtful which piqued his curiosity.

"Sasuke?"

"Nothing." He sighed "It's just...never mind. Listen, no human just _accepts_ the truth unless they know something themselves. Either that or they're eccentric fanatics that believe we sparkle in the sunlight or some other dumb shit like that."

The older brother chuckled at Sasuke's disgusted tone and decided to ask later about the guarded note concerning the girl's name "I would think you would enjoy sparkling, Sasuke," he teased "you do enjoy being out in the lime light so to speak."

"What_ever_." Itachi could practically hear his brother rolling his eyes before his tone turned serious "Bring her back to the estate. I'll personally look after her."

He didn't have to elaborate and inwardly Itachi was grateful. He would be punished, that was a given, but at least Sasuke would watch over her until he recovered. "Thank you, otouto."

"I'm only doing this because it's _you_, aniki." He reminded almost bitterly "I really hope this girl isn't a complete _idiot_ or fangirl because if she is you and I are going to have a long talk about your tastes in victims." Itachi almost shook his head; that boy was incorrigible and his sense of humor borderline morbid.

Dark eyes glanced over, noticing that Hinata was sitting up and looking at him, her expression carefully blank. Well. "I do not believe she is that sort of person." He resisted the urge to sigh "I will return as soon as I am able." When he snapped the cell phone closed he began to move closer, stopping a respectful distance away.

"You heard the conversation."

White eyes blinked and then focused back on her lap, nodding "I...if you want to know the truth..." she sighed "I'm –"

"Do not force yourself to reveal things to me." He said, taking note of her discomfort. Kneeling, he made sure he had her attention before speaking again "I have a feeling there is a reason you have been so accepting of this, and I will not press it. However, there is the issue of resolving my debt to you. You will not allow me to become your servant or offer my life – would you accept me becoming your protector? This is a matter of honor, Hyuuga-san, I _must_ repay my debt to you for almost taking your life. Although I admittedly have no real experience with humans I will teach you what you need to know concerning being a vampire of the Uchiha clan. You will want for nothing and while you will be unable to see your family again –" he paused as a sudden wave of sadness with a tint of bitterness washed over him. Those were not his feelings.

"I um...I don't really have a family." she whispered and her gaze dropped from his again. It seemed as if she wanted to say more but refrained "What are they going to do to you?"

She had heard even that much? "It is not your concern." Her eyes snapped to his but he refused to be swayed. "My brother is more in tune with the modern world than I and he is a man of his word. You will not be harmed and I will return to you when I am able. Before that, I must have your answer. I will understand if you feel apprehensive; I do not need to be within eyesight to protect you."

Dark hair shook and Hinata bit her lip "What you did, I don't um, I don't hate you for it. If you really meant to harm me you wouldn't be doing all of this so..." she trailed off for a moment before sighing "I don't want to call you my protector –" she looked at him "perhaps sensei? Since you'll be teaching me."

"Very well." She could call it whatever other title she wanted, as long as she agreed. Standing, he offered his hand to her "We will depart now for the estate. We can stop by your residence to retrieve anything you will absolutely need."

It took a lot to ignore the jolt that moved through him when her slender hand slid into his larger one. He felt a strong urge to pull her into his arms and realized that ever since he had regained his senses he had been having a rather strange reaction to this woman. He was sure it was not a good thing.

She blushed and he briefly wondered if she felt the same way he did. All he could currently sense from her was apprehension and confusion "W-what about my job, lease, and moving?"

"That will be taken care of." He assured her "We are an old and powerful clan. You will realize this as time progresses." Realizing he was still holding her hand he let it go, feeling slightly out of sorts. What was wrong with him? He could not entertain such feelings – he didn't have the right.

Whatever attraction or whatever this feeling was had to be discarded; the last thing she needed was unwelcome attention from a _monster_. The same monster who had almost shamelessly taken her life.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Playing this sucka by ear; I have no idea how long this will be. I definitely want to say 4-5 chapters. Just because I know she likes the concept, I threw in one of my OTP's. Hope you like it, Lady!

xxxxx

**2**

xxxxx

She had really no idea what to expect when the black sedan had pulled into the Uchiha estate. It was massive, a mansion located in the middle of nowhere and land that stretched for miles. There was a road that led into the thick forest surrounding the area. When the driver opened the door for her she slid out the car, her hands moving to her chest defensively. Fear gripped her as she looked up at the dark and intimidating building. She really wished Itachi was here.

Hinata knew that the vampire wanted to know why she had been so accepting of the truth concerning his race and his world but now he was gone to face whatever punishment he had been discussing with his brother over the phone. She honestly had no idea of how she would have been able to properly explain it.

For as long as she could remember, Hinata had been always been able to see and know things. As a little girl it had caused her a lot of problems, including being put in a mental institution for a long time. The young woman could see auras, and could see through illusions. She knew that human beings weren't the only race around and she had known Itachi had been a vampire the moment she had laid eyes on him. Of course, he had used his Voice to manipulate her, but she would have helped him regardless.

Along with seeing things she could also sense when someone was telling the truth and when someone was lying. It was innate; the moment someone uttered a sentence to her she just _knew_; it wasn't a conscious effort on her part.

Different. She had always been different from everyone else. When she had finally been able to leave the mental institution Hinata had kept her abilities to herself, even from the otherworldly creatures. She knew nothing of vampires, werewolves, and other races that looked human but were different. As for herself, she could not see her own aura, so she had no idea if she was just a special breed of human or something else entirely. She could only assume the former, since Itachi was convinced that she was human.

Itachi; the name brought mixed feelings. On one hand, he had nearly killed her; manipulating her actions with his powers and turning her into something not human. Had she actually had a life and a family this would have been devastating. Not that it wasn't but she had no idea what it meant to be a vampire. He had said that his clan was forbidden from 'taking from the source' yet he had claimed that she could do so with him whenever she wanted. Drinking cold blood was strange to her but doing so had almost felt...natural.

_I...am too comfortable with this._ She wasn't at all sure as to what that meant for or about her.

When she had awakened she had been so frightened and alarmed. When Itachi had explained everything to her she had felt torn, for many reasons. For one, although she should have been terrified of the male she instead had felt a...pull. The moment he had confessed to his true feelings on what happened she had automatically forgiven him and that thought in and of itself had been scary. She remembered what the Uchiha leader had told Itachi over the phone and she had agreed: no human should have been completely accepting of everything. What did that mean?

Inside the mansion was just as impressive, dark, and foreboding as the outside. Although it was night the halls seemed to be empty as someone she didn't know guided her up a winding staircase. There wasn't much color to the house; it was covered with red, white, blue, and black. There were symbols of either a red and white fan or a black and white fan. She assumed this was the Uchiha clan's symbol...it made sense.

There was a flash of something brown and white that crossed her vision but when she turned to look down the hall where she thought it had went it was gone. Strange; she had also sensed something...familiar about whatever that had been.

Uchiha Sasuke was an imposing man, but he was no Itachi. When she was brought into his office the young Hyuuga took in his solid frame and shorter hair. He was well dressed and seemed to prefer white and dark blue clothing. Onyx eyes slid over to her as she entered, revealing nothing. There was something about Itachi that seemed more regal and refined. Both men's presence seemed to command attention, but in different ways.

The biggest difference was in the way they looked at her. Itachi's gazes were serious but warm. Guilt was laced in there and it was that which had made her waver and lose her fear of him. She knew Itachi was a dangerous and deadly individual, but he was also very honorable and a good person. Hinata had believed him when he said he had been dying and had lost control; the wounds he had been sporting had been serious.

"You're a Hyuuga." The Uchiha head stated, dragging her from her thoughts. She looked over at him but did not go any farther, a bit wary and afraid. His aura definitely was similar to Itachi's, meaning that he was a vampire. "You even have his eyes."

"His?" she was definitely confused.

One moment he had been standing at his desk, the next he was in her face. She gasped and took a step back but his arm snaked out, wrapping around her waist and pulling her flush against him. Pale skin heated as fingers brushed along her jaw line and he tilted his head, his gaze intense. Her breath caught in her throat and before she realized what she was doing her hands slid up his chest and she tried to push herself away from him. He didn't budge, the grip he had on her was strong. When his lips moved closer to hers she turned away.

_Please...don't..._

Itachi's face flashed in her mind.

"I never thought I'd ever see another one of his people again." He murmured thoughtfully. His words caught her off guard and she turned back to look at him and started. His gaze was still intense but he looked thoughtful, as if she were some sort of strange puzzle. Hinata realized then that his interest in her was not romantic. How odd.

"Are you busy? I could come back later."

A dark sensation filled the office but Sasuke did not let her go. If anything, he pulled her closer. She watched in idle fascination as a smirk emerged and his black eyes shifted to crimson as he turned to the back of the room. The voice had been distinctively male and deep yet smoother than Sasuke's. He was tall and had a very regal presence to him like Itachi, but his posture and appearance was different. Long brown hair was tied back at the ends and he wore a white and silver business suit. Had he been the one she had sensed earlier?

The room was dark but she had no difficulties seeing the man. He was standing where Sasuke had been, his arms crossed as he leaned against the desk with his hip. His expression was completely devoid of emotion but his eyes...

_Wait. His eyes..._ His eyes were white just like hers! What did this mean?

"What do you think?" came the retort and Hinata got the distinct feeling there was some sort of play going on here. The brown haired man's voice had been hard and cold, Sasuke's was low and amused. "This is business."

"I sincerely doubt that." Uncrossing his arms the other man straightened and began to walk towards them. There was something very tense about his posture and in the way his white gaze moved over Sasuke's dark one. The clan head seemed unrepentant, however, still smirking and still holding his guest. "Is this the one Itachi was speaking of?"

The grip around her waist loosened and the raven haired male nodded "Yeah. Itachi is..." he glanced at Hinata briefly before turning back to the other "indisposed at the moment. Her name is Hyuuga Hinata."

Footsteps immediately halted and Sasuke took a step back so that the two white eyed individuals could take each other in. Shock was evident on the other male's face and he stared at her for a good long moment before turning back to Sasuke.

"Is this some sort of sick joke, Uchiha?" he asked and there was something raw and painful there "If it is, I am not amused."

The smirk faded and crimson eyes turned back as he shook his head "No. I'm serious. Even I have my limits, Neji."

The one known as Neji turned to her and just before he schooled his expression back to its bland state she saw so many different emotions move through him. Shock, surprise, pain, sadness, and even a bit of happiness. He took a step forward and raised a hand, his knuckles brushing along her cheek. Now that he was up close she could see that his eyes actually held a slight silver tint to them. Briefly, he shook his head, as if he couldn't believe the sight before him.

"You...survived." was all he said and that was all he _needed_ to say. Gasping, Hinata's hands flew to her mouth, eyes wide with shock. How did he know about...that?

"Well, this explains why she was so accepting of what Itachi told her," Sasuke murmured, moving back over towards the two. Neji spared him only a glance before turning back to her "But she doesn't seem to know anything." The other male nodded in agreement.

"I don't understand." Hinata's gaze was pleading as she looked up at Neji "You're...we're related?" she frowned "Are you a vampire too?" Itachi had told her that not all individuals in the Uchiha clan were blood related. Some were taken in once they swore fealty to the clan head. "Was I..." if they were related, did that mean she had already been a vampire? Was that why she had those strange powers?

"Yes to the first, no to the second." He took a few steps back to give Hinata personal space "Tell me, growing up, did you ever notice that you were different from others?" he paused for a moment as if contemplating something "If you do not answer me, I will harm you; do you believe that?"

"No." she answered automatically; not really thinking about the significance of his question. "You're..." she paused then and bit her lip, realizing that she had almost slipped up due to feeling so comfortable around the two men.

"I am lying." Neji nodded and she frowned in confusion "Even though I am a perfect stranger, you _know_, instinctively, that I was lying to you just now. It might be something you never even really noticed; that ability we have is rather passive. Now tell me, when you look at me, what color is my aura?"

He knew about her abilities; that meant they weren't exclusive, right? They were supposedly related so maybe that was how? Confusion began to fill her; a lot of this wasn't making any sense. "It's um, white. Normal people's auras are a light purple."

Instead of saying anything else to her he turned to Sasuke "May I have a few moments alone with her, Sasuke? I am not entirely sure if this was destiny or conspiracy. Madara had been in Uchiha territory for a reason..." he looked over at her and she started, becoming even more confused.

"Why do you think I asked you here?" the Uchiha crossed his arms, raising a brow. He nodded his head towards a door on the far left "Use that room."

"Thank you." It was genuine and he motioned for Hinata to follow him "There are many things I need to tell you, Hinata-sama." She blinked at his formal tone "You can trust me."

She could sense no lies from him and so she relaxed. Years and a lot of close calls had made her very dependent on her abilities. She also wanted answers and she knew this person would tell her everything. He had to be related to her, she had yet to ever meet someone with eyes like hers; there had to be a connection.

He allowed her to take the lead but when they took a few steps forward Neji abruptly stopped, or rather, was jerked back. Both turned and the older male looked down at the hand gripping his wrist. Hinata couldn't see the look on Neji's face but his stance and his thin secondary aura – the one that showed emotion – was bright yellow and orange with agitation and confusion. Sasuke's aura, which was a deep crimson – a sign that he was a vampire as Itachi had the same aura, was a mixture of colors but the one that stuck out the most was...

"You know the other reason I called you here." It was said so low that were it not for her newly enhanced hearing she might have missed Sasuke's words. His grip on Neji's wrist was hard and he pulled the other male close "I'm tired of this game."

The tension from earlier increased. Neji's aura began to have other colors mingle but the agitation and confusion was still there. Sasuke's aura was dark with resolve and determination "Sasuke," he began but cut himself off when a hand slid into his hair and he was pulled forward. Immediately Hinata felt as if she were intruding in on a private moment and turned around, her face turning bright red. Had they just...?

"Now you know." The Uchiha said and Hinata heard him turn on his heel and begin to walk towards the door she had come in at. When she turned back to face her relative he was not looking at her. His expression was grim and conflicted, colors were emerging and mingling into one strange colorful mess. When he looked up at her finally, his face was impassive. She held up her hands.

"I...It's n-none of my business..." she hastily began, trying to reassure him that she wasn't going to pry "I w-won't..."

"Come, there is much to discuss." He cut off and walked briskly past her. With a nod she knew he wouldn't be able to see, her expression turned downcast at the new colors that had emerged; anger and sadness. Whatever the situation was with Sasuke and Neji, it did not seem to be one the latter was happy about.

xxxxx

"The Hyuuga are a race of individuals that have been known by different names over the years," Sasuke was sitting at his brother's bedside, a scowl on his face as he took in the older Uchiha's bandaged body. It would take a while for Itachi to recover, vampires healed fast only if they were healthy and had fresh blood. As per the punishment, he had been starved, beaten for days and had been given only enough blood so that he would not die. Itachi, that damned idiot, had refused to allow Sasuke to interfere any more than he already had – normally the punishment was much more severe. He hated seeing him like this; honor wasn't everything.

"Lightseekers, Truthsayers, Byakugan," he continued "They've been know by those names as well." Recognition crossed his brother's features "You know what I'm talking about now?"

A small nod "Yes. The name was not familiar to me because that clan coveted it and did their best to stay underground and away from all forms of civilization." He frowned thoughtfully "Interesting. Although I had been in deep sleep when it had happened, my understanding was that they had all been wiped out by the Akatsuki. Their powers had posed too much of a threat to Madara's plans and although they were primarily a neutral race he had wanted to take no chances. Their kind can see the truth; magic does not work well on them, they can see through illusions, they can see and even manipulate auras. It was rumored that some could even possess psychic abilities. There is also the legend of vampires being a sort of cousin-race to them." That young woman was a part of that race? He had never met someone who was of the Byakugan and he had sensed nothing out of the ordinary with her. "It is strange, I do not sense anything unusual with her."

Sasuke nodded "You wouldn't. That's another thing about them; they're like ghosts. They can't be sensed and so they can easily pass off as human. It's even easier for them to hide now thanks to technology. Slap on a pair of contact lenses and you'd never know the difference. Like us, Hyuuga don't age past a certain point and they can use spells." He shrugged "Madara did wipe them out; only the main family had survived after the onslaught and had gone into hiding. That guy's been trying to hunt them down ever since. He tracked down the head family's twin brother and killed him and his wife; only the son escaped."

Itachi frowned "Otouto, how do you know this?" if Sasuke knew, wouldn't Madara know the boy was alive as well? Without any protection he couldn't see how the boy could have avoided Madara for too long.

A thin smile emerged "Because he lives here." He held up a hand before Itachi could comment "He's been living here for the past twenty five years, under a different name and pretending to be a human servant. I didn't tell you because I swore I wouldn't and I'm the only one who truly knows who he is."

"I understand," there was something about the way his little brother spoke about the individual that struck him as odd. "It was the right thing to do. The less individuals that know the better. But what of Hinata? How did she evade Madara for so long? I am almost positive she doesn't even know what she is."

At the mention of her Itachi felt something strange settle in the pit of his stomach and his heart clenched strangely. He recalled her classical beauty; her long glossy hair, pale skin, petal soft lips...

_What is this?_ Ever since he had regained his senses he had felt an incredible pull towards her, one he could not explain nor had any desire to indulge in, considering. Whatever the feeling was, he had to ignore it.

Tilting his head Sasuke gave his brother a strange look but seemed to decide not to address whatever it was that was on his mind "Around the time Hinata was a little girl Madara had found the remaining main family. As far as I was able to gather up, he had rigged their car and they ended up driving off a cliff while in the mountains. Mother, father, Hinata, and her infant sister had all been branded as deceased. Looks like she survived somehow. More than likely she had been found, taken in and adopted out, living as a human. I don't know much about her but I've got informants on it. Since she was declared dead that's probably why Madara never went after her as the years went on."

The old Uchiha clan head frowned "When I encountered him last week he had five of his best men with him in our territory. I had thought it strange at the time..." he looked up at Sasuke "Do you think that perhaps he had risked invading our area because he had found her? To have gone to such lengths speaks of desperation – he obviously had something important in our lands that he wanted."

"It's highly likely." Sasuke shrugged "According to her, she had been locked up in a mental institution during her middle school and high school years. She was released a few years ago but if Madara had been keeping up on things like that he could have put two and two together."

That was not good but yet, what did that mean? How strange was it that the night Madara had been looking for her had been the same night they had crossed paths? "How did you meet the other Hyuuga? I am assuming he came here for sanctuary but there are other clans he could have gone to. The Senju, Namikaze, or the Sarutobi would have taken him. From the sound of it, I am under the impression that the Hyuuga were between ours and the Namikaze territory based on what you told me about car accident. Was it just coincidence?"

"We know each other." There was something guarded in Sasuke's voice "When Madara had first began his attack the main family came to me and the other clan heads to make deals for protection." He shook his head "But they had waited too long. It wasn't until they were almost gone that they had finally given in and asked for our help. By the time we were able to do something they were all already dead. He had been the ambassador for the main family; he survived Madara's attack because of his own skills and because our men had arrived to chase that bastard away."

Itachi let this all digest. So the young woman was not human but one of the Byakugan, a Hyuuga. "Are the rumors true about them being able to manipulate individual's auras?" Perhaps that was the reason for the strange connection. If she did not know of her powers than it was likely she wouldn't know how to control them. Could she be manipulating his aura?

Sasuke shrugged "In a way, yeah." Before Itachi could ask his brother to elaborate someone knocked on the door. Getting up to open it revealed Neji and Hinata, the former individual looked very upset. The long haired male swept past Sasuke to reach Itachi's bed. Unlike the vampires whose eyes turned crimson, it seemed that there were veins forming around the Hyuuga's eyes and the silver tint faded, making them look almost purely white. Something seemed to spark in the room and the tension became an almost physical force.

"You." White eyes narrowed "You _turned_ my cousin into a vampire?" the words were hissed out "You hypocrite!" the older male did not fight it when Neji grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him forward. He ignored Hinata's sharp cry "I've heard the stories about you, Uchiha Itachi; you have always been described as an honorable and just man. Why did you do such a thing?"

"Neji," the clan head began but Hinata moved forward, gently placing her hands on Neji's arm. Her gaze was pleading and there were tears in her eyes. It took Neji only a moment to understand why when he let Itachi go and she turned to him, her hands gently touching the man's bandaged forearm. Her expression was full of worry and pain but that wasn't what made the Hyuuga take a step back, his eyes wide and face paling. The moment she had touched Itachi both of their auras had shifted drastically. He knew what that was, he had seen it before.

The movement caught Itachi's attention and he frowned in confusion. Why was the Hyuuga looking at him like that all of a sudden? What was going on?

Whatever it was, it appeared that Sasuke seemed to know as well, for when Neji turned as if to leave onyx eyes had narrowed dangerously and flashed crimson. He did not move, only stood there with his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, but there was a moment of tense silence between the two males before Neji walked briskly and stiffly out of the room. Sasuke followed Neji with his eyes and when he was out of sight turned his gaze to the couple staring at him with questions and confusion in their eyes.

"I'll tell you later." He said simply and also left, heading in the same direction Neji had gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Whew! Took me the whole day but I finished it! I got another month until I go back to school and I have a lot of writing to catch up on! X3

A few folks made mention about the whole thing with SasuNeji and it's not the first time someone's commented on an M/M relationship being in my primarily het fics. So just to let you know now: Expect to see a mixture of M/M, Het, and F/F in most, if not all, of my future fics. I enjoy diversity and for me; love is love. Gender and race don't matter to me. Besides, SasuNeji is my OTP and they don't get nearly as much love as they should. I'm glad you enjoy their interaction so far, Lady. This is tons of fun to write.

xxxxx

**3**

xxxxx

"Mm?" confusion filled her groggy mind as her eyes fluttered open; she felt so unbelievably heavy for some reason. As she slowly focused, she came face to face with animalistic black eyes, tanned skin and tattooed cheeks. A feral grin emerged on the person's face.

"Hey there, cutie." He said and she realized that she couldn't move because he was sitting on her.

She screamed.

This effectively got the animal-man off her as he crab-walked back and away, hands covering his ears "Geez!" he shook his head, trying to get the ringing to stop. "Did ya have to be so loud? It wasn't like I was gonna bite you or anything!"

Although it was impolite, Hinata pointed at him, her other hand over her mouth "W-who a-are you a-and why a-are you in m-my room?" she stammered out, face crimson at having a man in such close proximity. Sitting cross-legged on the ground the man began to dig in his ear with a sharpened pinky finger.

"The name is Inuzuka Kiba," he grinned at her again "and I –"

"Apparently have a _death wish_." Neji placed an expensive boot on Kiba's head and pushed forward, almost rolling him over "What did you think you were doing to Hinata-sama?" the tone of voice implied that very painful things would happen if he did not receive an answer. He began to crack his knuckles.

"I wasn't doing anything!" he stood, pointing at Hinata who was staring at them with wide eyes "I thought I smelled something funny and I came to investigate. Who is she anyway for you to be addressing her so formally? You _never_ address anyone like that."

"That's because I am surrounded by inferior individuals." Neji snapped and ignored the Inuzuka's growl "And idiots."

This earned him a finger "Hyuuga, you can suck my –"

"Um..." Hinata interjected, trying to diffuse the open hostility in the air "I-Inuzuka-san? You're not human, are you?" he had an earthy aura; strange as she was sure she had never seen that color on someone until now.

Kiba looked at her as if she were daft "Well, yeah." His brow rose skeptically "Aren't you a vampire? You got Itachi's stink all over you."

"Oh!" her hands covered her face and she bowed her head, horribly embarrassed. "I...um, well I...you see..."

"Hinata-sama is my cousin," he informed the other male "as for why she has Itachi's scent..." his eyes narrowed and he turned his head slightly, scowling at the newcomer. Sasuke stood at the threshold of Hinata's door, a smirk on his face. Onyx eyes slid over to Kiba.

"I don't think I called you here so you could sniff up on the new girl, mutt." He still looked amused as he looked at Hinata "Figure it out yet?"

It took her a moment to figure out what he was referring to "Um...a shapeshifter?"

Both the Uchiha head and Kiba snorted "Yeah, you can say that." His eyes swept over Neji briefly before looking at Kiba "You can trust her."

"I'm a lycanthrope, bloodsucker." For some reason, Hinata could not find it in her to be offended by his crude behavior. In fact, something about Kiba was relaxing; she honestly couldn't explain it "I'm from the Inuzuka clan and we're allied with this jerkoff's folks." He jerked a thumb at Sasuke and she giggled.

"I thought that vampires and werewolves didn't get along." She said light heartedly and both Kiba and Sasuke rolled their eyes; Neji looked indifferent.

"Don't believe everything the media tells ya." Shrugging, he turned to Sasuke "I got the info you wanted. Took Shino and Shikamaru a few days to snatch it up; they both said they want extra."

"Whatever." He snapped irritably "Just give me the info, we're secure."

Squatting down he looked up at Sasuke "You were right about Madara; he's definitely looking for someone in your territories. He's been calling the other Akatsuki from all over to come here. So far, they don't know we got her but he's looking pretty damn hard, like he's on a mission."

"Odd..." Neji crossed his arms in thought "I could understand being threatened by our race as a whole but what could Hinata-sama or myself do to damage whatever sick plans that man is coming up with? He is definitely more powerful than either of us." the Hyuuga genius frowned thoughtfully "Was there perhaps a deeper reason as to why he wanted to get rid of all Hyuuga?"

The young vampire shifted uncomfortably at the prospect. From what she knew about Uchiha Madara he was a traitor but a powerful one. Before going rogue he had held a very high position within the clan, co-founder even, and he was very old. During the past few weeks of her stay she had learned much about the vampire world, who she was and her abilities. The last thing she wanted was to be significant to someone like _him_.

"Aniki's almost recovered," Sasuke said "he'll be protecting your cousin to atone for what he did." It took a lot for Hinata not to feel disappointed at that statement. She didn't know why, it made absolutely no sense, but she had hoped there would have been a deeper reason than honor that made Itachi want to be around her.

_I can't think like this. Itachi-san would never be interested in a girl like me._ The thought distressed her, because it meant that she probably had feelings for the man and she didn't even know him. Her attempts to become closer to him while he had been recovering had been fruitless. There was a solid wall between them and it stung a lot. She felt as if she had a deep connection to the former Uchiha head; perhaps it was because they had shared blood? Maybe she was confusing her growing romantic feelings as something else. A part of her wanted that to be it because falling for a man centuries her senior felt intimidating and nerve wrecking.

If Neji was upset by Sasuke's statement he didn't show it. "If Madara is seriously gathering his forces it means that he might actually try and attack us in our own territory. I hear Itachi dispatched three of his best already but there are many others. There is nothing for it; we will have to call for aid. The ones closest to us are the Namikaze and –"

"No." A jaw muscle ticked as Sasuke scowled "Not happening."

Both Kiba and Neji stared at him as if he had grown a second head. Neji recovered first "Sasuke, this is serious."

"Yeah, and I'm serious about this. Find someone else; I'm not dealing with that idiot."

Her cousin began to look highly frustrated "Listen, I don't know what happened between you and Naruto but this is gone past the point of ridiculousness, Sasuke. The Namikaze clan is the strongest right now and they're our closest allies. We'll need to work with them if Madara does decide to attack because if he does, he will not do so with light forces."

"Gotta agree with Neji there." Kiba shrugged "Besides, Naruto ain't that bad."

Black eyes flashed crimson as he regarded the two males "I. Said. No." he ground out each statement.

Neji put a hand through his hair in frustration "You are such a..." he glared "Why do you have me as your advisor if you're never going to listen to my advice?"

Crossing his arms, Sasuke looked Neji straight in the eyes and tilted his head slightly "Stop giving me _shitty_ advice and _maybe_ I'll listen."

"Oh shit." Kiba muttered under his breath, standing up straight and taking a few steps away from the two men who were glaring at each other with open hostility. Neji looked as if he was barely restraining himself from attacking the Uchiha outright and Sasuke's stance was clearly suggesting that Neji bring it. As they continued their glaring contest Kiba sat down beside her on the bed, rolling his eyes at their antics. Hinata was concerned for the two; there seemed to be something angry and intense between them.

A hand patted her head and she looked up at Kiba "They're always like that, don't sweat it. They haven't killed each other yet in the past almost thirty years so I doubt it'll happen today."

It didn't make her feel any better; Kiba couldn't see her cousin's extremely conflicted aura. Whenever he was around Sasuke his aura would reflect high agitation, confusion, sadness, and something else. Despite their apparent closeness Neji was extremely uncomfortable around Sasuke which baffled her.

"Maybe it's because they've known each other for so long that their auras..." She mused silently and immediately realized her folly; all three men had superhuman hearing and three sets of eyes suddenly locked onto her. Any and all forms of humor disappeared from the Uchiha's face, Kiba looked curious and Neji's aura flared with discomfort.

"What are you muttering about, Hyuuga." Hinata tried not to shiver at Sasuke's hard tone. Reluctantly, she looked up at him, cowering slightly under his intense gaze. Why did she get the feeling he already knew what she was talking about?

"W-well..." she looked down, pointing her fingers together – a nervous habit. "It's just that you two seem so hostile but whenever you're together your auras –" she jumped with a small 'eep' as the door suddenly slammed, cutting her off. Her hands flew to her chest to still her heart as she took in what happened. Neji was gone, Kiba looked as if he wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or shake his head and Sasuke was _staring_ at her, his eyes so red they looked as if they were glowing.

"Finish your sentence." It was a clear demand and the young woman felt as if she had caused something very bad to happen. When she looked down and didn't immediately answer he snapped out her name and she jumped again.

"W-whenever you're...around each other your auras um..." how to explain it? "...try to blend together. It's really strange; I've never seen that happen before." It was as if the two auras were calling out to each other but that didn't make any sense. It wasn't unusual for auras to mingle, it happened with any sort of interaction, especially with physical contact. Mingling meant that the auras would either flow side by side or, in certain cases, push away from each other. Usually it was fairly easy to discern the two mingling auras apart; this was not the case here. Their auras weren't mingling, they were _merging_, like two identical halves trying to become whole again. Physically and emotionally Neji seemed to recoil but his aura had no such qualms; it was as if it _wanted_ to fully merge.

"Alright. Thanks, Hyuuga." Eyes still blazing crimson he walked out of her room much quieter than Neji had. At Hinata's completely confused look Kiba started laughing, standing up and putting his hands in his pockets.

"Sasuke's been after Neji since they first met," the Inuzuka explained and Hinata gasped, face turning scarlet.

"R-really? But they...seem to hate each other." _Oh no, what if I...? Neji-niisan I'm so sorry!_

A clawed hand ruffled her hair and Kiba gave her a reassuring smile "Don't sweat it, Hinata, they're always like that. He's just pissed off because Neji won't give him the time of day and Uchiha don't like it when they don't get what they want. They've been going back and forth since they've known each other, it's old news now. He might have even turned him; they say he's human but obviously he's not."

Thirty years? That long? "Why...why does Uchiha-san keep going after Neji-niisan if he's not interested? I mean he...wouldn't it be easier for him to move on?"

Kiba shrugged "I don't try to figure out how those two work. I've known Sasuke for a long time, longer than Hyuuga has, and it wasn't until he met that guy that he started acting weird. Before that me and him were always out hooking up with chicks with the rest of the gang. Then those two meet and it all comes to a halt. Never would have thought Sasuke to be gay until it happened." He shrugged "Trust me, if Neji _really_ wasn't interested, Sasuke would have dropped it a long time ago. Like I said, they got some weird thing going, it's best to just ignore it."

None of that made sense. So they liked each other but yet...?

The Inuzuka laughed when Hinata swayed a bit, dizzy from trying to figure out the complexities that was Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji. He shook her shoulder.

"Just ignore it, your brain will thank ya."

xxxxx

Itachi was aware of the fact that avoiding the young woman was extremely counterproductive to anything and everything. It was also extremely nonsensical; he was her protector and would be for the rest of his life. He was supposed to be training her in her powers and abilities, he was supposed to be the one she could go to and yet he was keeping her at a severe emotional distance. Weeks had gone by with no improvement. Now that he thought about it, the more his strange feelings increased the more he found himself resisting. When she was near he felt confused and even agitated, as if something about her threatened his very being. Something about her called out to him and yet it felt oppressive and binding. He wanted to believe it was because she could manipulate auras but he knew better, there was a stronger force at work. Perhaps he could ask Neji; according to Sasuke the man had been considered a prodigy in his clan. His ability to manipulate and shift auras was supposed to be on an expert level. The Hyuuga even had a combat style for this called the Juuken that enabled them to touch an opponent in a certain way that left no real _physical_ damage; it was all spiritual. Since they could only manipulate auras through touch the Juuken had been developed as a self defense mechanism.

To say he thought of her often would be an understatement; she was _all_ he thought about and that really bothered him. Itachi did not believe in coincidences and as the weeks went on things didn't add up. According to his little brother Madara had definitely been looking for _someone_ and the belief was that the person was Hinata as he had been sniffing around in that general area. Then by some freak of nature encounter he ended up meeting the very person Madara wanted and now there was this strange and confusing bond between them. The rogue Uchiha had been spotted in that area for weeks and yet it was on _his_ watch that he found her and turned her. As much as he didn't want to think it; there was a strong possibility that their connection was much more complicated than he had initially believed.

But he had a job to do and he was honor bound to it. As much as he wanted to put as much distance between the two of them as possible, he could not. So he took a small mental breath, collected himself and walked out to the courtyard where she was waiting for her lessons from him. The night air was refreshing; spring was coming. Hinata had claimed that she was suffering from headaches; more than likely it was from her enhanced vision. He would teach her some techniques that would help her with this and...

His body came to an abrupt halt as he rounded the corner that led him to the center. Hinata was standing there patiently, her expression a mixture of sad and worried. Tonight was the last night of the full moon and it was illuminating the world below it in a soft glow. Her garments were simple, a pale beige and purple blouse with black Capri pants and some plain white walking shoes. She was not an exotic beauty with the exception of her eyes; Hinata's beauty was subtle and gentle, just like her. Although he had seen many beautiful women in his years of living none of them had affected him like she did. That couldn't be coincidence.

_Why is this happening? Why now after centuries of nothing?_

"Good evening, Hinata-san." His voice was smooth and revealed nothing of his inner turmoil. Not that it mattered; the moment her gaze shifted to him he could tell that she could see what he was feeling. How...very _uncomfortable_. Itachi was a very private and reclusive man; it was disconcerting to know that this slip of a woman could literally see what he was feeling. It was like an invasion of his privacy and that only enhanced his desire to put more distance between them.

He felt exposed around her. It was a terrifying feeling.

His discomfort made her uncomfortable and she looked away from him, wringing her hands. Guilt filled him and he felt a strong desire to go to her and provide comfort. It was so strong that it wasn't until he had almost touched her that he realized what he was doing. They stared at each other then, her pearl colored eyes filled with worry and sadness. This was unacceptable. He sighed out loud this time and ignored his growing feelings of discomfort.

"You claimed that you were having headaches and you've been developing sensitivity to light." He took a few steps back to regard her. She looked up at him for a moment longer before she nodded quietly, looking down again.

_We can't do this for eternity. It's not possible._

"I've spoken to a few of the turned vampires we have here," he was determined to keep things at a professional level as he always did; these lessons were important for Hinata's health and wellbeing "they have informed me that what you are experiencing is natural and can be fixed by adjusting your vision."

This surprised her "You can...do that?"

Itachi nodded "Vampires have evolved over the millennia to the point where we can enhance or dull our senses. Since genetically there is little difference between a turned and pureblooded vampire you should be able to do this as well with time."

"Um...I've been meaning to ask about that." When he remained silent she took that as her sign to continue "Neji-niisan says that vampires and lycanthropes are the only ones that can change other creatures...why is that?"

It was a good question "The legend behind it holds little facts to prove it but the basic conclusion is that we were cursed by the gods. For the lycanthropes, they angered their wolf gods and guardians and so were cursed with their forms and their blood made poisonous to anyone else. It was the same for vampires. Our blood is supposedly poisonous but it doesn't kill, it converts. It is said our bloodthirst was also a curse from the gods for us thinking we could be their equals." He didn't sound convinced of it because he wasn't "I personally do not believe in such things as gods; they seem to always become conveniently silent early on in almost every religion known and yet we are supposed to have blind faith in them."

"W-well...maybe it's not t-that they're being silent...maybe we're just not listening. Or maybe we can't hear them." She began to poke her fingers together and he looked at her for a moment before smirking briefly.

"Perhaps." But he wasn't that optimistic or idealistic. "But more than likely it is merely a matter of our DNA moving in and taking over. I doubt it's anything magical or mystical." He shook his head "Enough of that, let us begin the lesson."

It seemed that Hinata was a rather slow learner who quickly became nervous and overly apologetic when she made a mistake; as if expecting a harsh reprimand. This confused him at first until he remembered what Sasuke had told him about her past. Before the asylum she had bounced around foster homes, many of them not being able to understand Hinata's abilities. She had been accused of being a facetious and troublesome child and many of them had resorted to 'disciplining' her until her last family sent her away for good.

He surmised after the lesson that it wasn't a matter of Hinata being slow; she just didn't believe in herself. It would probably take decades to get her out of that line of thinking. Due to their awkwardness around each other and her obvious disappointment in herself at not being able to grasp the concepts faster, she avoided his gaze completely and looked very lost. Itachi found himself once again wanting to comfort her, to tell her that it was fine that she hadn't mastered it in one day because it was typical. When she politely excused herself and turned to leave, he found himself looking up at the sky and an idea suddenly hit him.

"Hinata-san." A small smile flickered as he lowered his gaze to her. She turned, looking very confused. At that moment he wondered what his aura looked like to her, ignoring the fact that not too long ago the idea of it made him uncomfortable "Come, there is something I would like to show you." He motioned for her to come closer and she did; very slowly. He almost smiled at her borderline comical antics and ignored the voice telling him that he should be bothered by the fact that he found it cute. All that seemed to matter to him was comforting her. He _had_ to do it; it felt as essential to him as breathing.

"There is one thing I will show you tonight that you will eventually be learning. It is not an easy ability but once mastered..." he held out his hand as she neared and did smile reassuringly when she looked nervous "I will not harm you."

The moment her slender hand slid into his grip something sharp moved through him and he almost snatched his hand away. Had he not kept his grip tight she would have. Both stood there for a moment staring at each other in surprise and slight confusion. The sensation didn't fade, instead it felt as if he was being sucked inside whatever it was between them, like some sort of invisible black hole.

He felt like himself and yet he didn't. There were dozens of emotions moving through him; consuming him. Desires emerged and were he a weaker man they would have been overwhelming. He wanted to know anything and everything about her. He desired to know her inside and out. Why had he thought she was threatening his existence? Now all he could think about was how _right_ that sensation was, how fitting.

None of this showed on his face; instead he pulled her close, taking in her light floral scent. Everything about her was perfect, as if she had been made specifically for him. Why had that ever bothered him? "Do not let go of me."

There was a gasp and a small cry as Hinata suddenly found herself in the air. Her small hands grabbed at his coat and she hung on for dear life, face flushing as she looked down at the shrinking ground. Itachi actually chuckled at this and tightened his grip. He smiled down warmly at her although she couldn't see it with her head buried in his chest. His chin settled on the top of her head as they hovered in the air high above the ground. It was peaceful up here and the air always felt fresh and crisp.

"I will not allow any harm to come to you, Hinata-san." His tone was meant to sound reassuring but when large lavender eyes looked up at him he found his breath catching and he fought to maintain some semblance of control "Look around you, this is the last thing I will teach you and these are the sights you will be able to come and see whenever you wish."

Sharp obsidian eyes took in the way her hair blew in the wind as she did as she was instructed. Another gasp left her and although she pressed her body against his as if afraid, she found herself enamored by the scene before her. The Uchiha estate was hidden on private property, meaning that it was surrounded by forest. With her sharp vision she could see much of the ground below. She could see the way the moonlight bathed the beautiful landscape in a silvery glow and how the wind seemed to make the leaves sparkle. The woman in his arms was breathless as she took it all in.

"It's...so beautiful."

Something strange came over him. The closer he held Hinata the more he felt as if it wasn't enough, as if he had to get closer; deeper. His gaze became heated as he took in the small peek of her lengthened incisors as she stared in wonder at the sights. The desire to have her sink those tiny fangs into his neck was so powerful it was an actual physical ache. The pull between them was beginning to tug at his mind and he felt almost drunk from it. Nothing else was beginning to matter but her.

The rational side of his mind was not surprised when he delved a hand into her hair and closed the distance between their lips. She let out a muffled noise of surprise that he ignored. Instead he forced her to part for him and delved his tongue inside the sweet cavern of her mouth. Because he had to, his tongue sliced over her fangs, the taste of blood mingling between them nearly driving him mad with lust. His grip on her became almost painful as he dominated over their kiss, wanting to consume her as she was consuming him. She whimpered softly at his aggressive behavior but did not fight him; instead her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him close.

It was as if her very soul was absorbing his, taking it and changing it into something else entirely. The more he touched her, the more they connected the less he cared about it. When they parted to breathe her name escaped his lips as a soft caress just before he claimed her mouth again.

How had he ever existed without her? Having her in his arms, kissing her; all of it felt so natural. The more he felt himself being sucked in the more it seemed as if a huge hole within him was being filled – he had never thought he had been missing anything until now.

The second time they parted and Hinata's eyelashes fluttered open she gasped, this time in disturbed shock. A strong surge of worry came over him at this but he felt himself unable to find that strange or unusual. She was worried, he had to protect her. It was that simple. "Hinata, what is it?"

"I can't see your aura anymore."

And just like that the spell was broken.

"What do you mean?" he needed to get some serious distance between them. Slowly they descended and as they did his mind was racing; his earlier confusion and agitation returned with a vengeance. What the _hell_ happened to him up there? Never had he ever been so completely wild and out of control like that. His reaction to her had been unreal; Itachi had felt like a man possessed.

_What is she doing to me?_ The feeling of her threatening his being returned as well and the moment he had her secure on the ground he took five steps back and away from her, fighting to keep his face an emotionless mask. Inside he was terrified at what just touching her seemed to do to him. What happened up there...that had not been him. That was not the way he acted and he did not enjoy feeling out of control like that.

Thankfully, she looked just as perturbed as he did, her delicate brows furrowing in confusion "I don't..." she continued to try and explain herself but it came out as stammered garbage. Frustrated, Itachi closed his eyes and willed himself to be patient.

"Hinata-san." When he opened his eyes she took a step back, wary of his crimson gaze "Take a few calming breaths and then try again. What do you mean by the fact that you cannot see my aura?"

Hyuuga manipulated auras through touch, so did that mean that she had done so just now? Was that why he was feeling and acting so strangely? Was she doing it on purpose? What if she really did know and understand her powers? With Madara snooping around for her and their 'coincidental' meeting he wondered...was it all a set up? What if she was working with Madara to...

_Enough! You are panicked and thinking irrationally. She is not an enemy._ But she sure as hell felt like one at the moment. He needed to get away from her, she was too dangerous. He would have to talk to Neji immediately; he needed to know what he was dealing with and whether or not he could stop it. He didn't want to feel like that again.

She did as instructed but it was obvious that she had no answer for him; Hinata truly had no idea why she could no longer see his aura. Silence became the wall that was forming between them and he let it go on for a while before speaking.

"Do not worry about it, Hinata-san. I am sure it is nothing." He was lying and they both knew it, but since she seemed to be just as confused all she did was nod and turned her head away from his gaze. "It is getting late and I do not wish to keep you. Good evening."

He would protect her from afar, in the shadows. He would send someone else to train her; more than likely a turned vampire since they would have a better idea of how to deal with her situation. He would speak to Neji about this new development but he was _not _going to put himself within twenty feet of her presence if he could possibly help it. Not until she acquired some semblance of control on her powers. Itachi felt manipulated, confused, agitated and not a little angry. His entire being felt as if it was calling to her now, like she was some sort of drug. He had a feeling it had everything to do with why she could no longer see his aura.

Itachi knew he would regret his harsh thoughts later but right now he honestly wished he wasn't honor bound to her. In fact right now he wished he had never even met her.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Man, you guys have no idea how hard the muse bunny is hitting me on this story. I think as far as short stories go this is probably my favorite so far that I've written. I know I've been saying that I'd be cutting it off here and there but with the way my mind is going, this story will either have 6 or 7 chapters, depending on how the next important scene in my head goes when I write it down.

I'm so glad you've been enjoying this so far, Lady, I really am(I've said that how many times now? Lol ). You're awesome. To everyone, thank you so much, over 40 reviews and only 4 chapters...you all are the best ever.

I'm releasing these as I write them, so I apologize in advance for any horrid grammar errors.

xxxxx

**4**

xxxxx

Itachi didn't even try to hide his shock at the scene before him. "Should I...come back some other time?"

Sasuke was being pinned down by Neji on the couch of his study. While he was aware of whatever it was that was going on between the two males, he was sure that _this_ wasn't supposed to be the expected end result.

His little brother reached out for him with one hand while the other gripped Neji's forearm "Ta...chi..." he tried to move but to no avail "Get him...off of me...can't...can't breathe..."

Calmly the Hyuuga looked up at Itachi and tilted his head so as to move hair from his eyes. He took a small breath, his face devoid of all emotion. "Hello Itachi-san. Do you mind coming back in a few minutes? I am trying to murder your brother." He looked down at Sasuke and his grip tightened "If you can _speak_ you can _breathe_." He tsked "Let's correct this." His victim made a strangled noise.

He honestly wasn't sure if Neji was joking or not. With the way Sasuke's face was beginning to turn colors, he had a feeling the other male was very serious. Or half-serious in any case. "Hyuuga-san, I would appreciate it if you did not kill my only brother in cold blood."

Neji blinked "It's not like he doesn't deserve it."

Silence. "That's not really the point, Hyuuga-san."

"Whose side are you on?" Sasuke finally managed to get Neji to loosen his grip and he pushed the long haired male away from him, coughing and massaging his throat with his hand. He glared at Neji "You were seriously trying to kill me, weren't you?"

"The world would be a better place without your idiocy polluting it." The Hyuuga shot up from the couch, avoiding Sasuke like the plague now that he wasn't trying to kill him. He turned to Itachi "I assure you, my actions were justified." He matched Sasuke's glare with one of his own "I spoke to Naruto and he told me why you refuse to contact him. You fought me for _days_ on this and here I was thinking it was something legitimate or serious when it's really just you being a complete _moron_. If I knew necromancy I'd kill you, then revive you so I could kill you again for the hell and suffering you put me through for _absolutely_ _nothing_. You have no idea how much I seriously _loathe you_ right now."

Well, he had a feeling Neji probably wasn't going to be in a talkative or cooperative mood today. He was genuinely confused; what was he talking about?

"It is serious!" the clan head stood up, eyes narrowing "I'd rather die in obscurity than contact that guy."

"Is your pride seriously worth more than everyone in this estate? Than your life?"

"Yes!"

"Excuse me." Itachi crossed his arms, a brow rising at their antics. Neji looked as if he was about to try and murder Sasuke again and his little brother was glaring with equal hostility. Obviously, someone needed to be the voice of reason and it wasn't going to be those two. "Hyuuga-san, _what_ are you talking about?"

As if his voice held some sort of soothing affect, Neji's posture straightened and he took a calming breath before speaking "Do you remember last week when we learned that Madara could be possibly mounting up for an attack on the clan?" Itachi nodded and he continued "I advised Sasuke to call for aid, specifically from the Namikaze clan because we will need their strength."

"I am aware of the debate, I was under the impression that something must have happened for my brother to be so adamant about his refusal."

"Something _did_ happen," Sasuke began but Neji wasn't having it.

"This _idiot_ refuses to deal with Naruto because he lost a bet. A _bet_." He repeated it as if the term completely disgusted him.

Itachi had to admit that he was slightly displeased by the revelation "Sasuke, I gave you the clan because I felt that you would do well by it. Something this petty..."

"You don't understand, aniki." The younger brother glared at Neji "He's not telling you everything. Listen, as a man there are just things you _don't do_ and I'll happily take death over what I'd have to do if I sought out that guy."

"I will admit that the terms are ridiculous," Neji sighed "But nonetheless, people's lives are at stake, Sasuke. My life and my cousin's life." His expression became unreadable and his voice dropped to barely a whisper "Is your pride more important than that?"

A silent staring war waged between them and Itachi watched the exchange with idle fascination. These two were a handful, he was glad he had missed the past almost thirty years of their insanity by him being in deep sleep. There was something intense going on between them; as if the tension between them was constantly near its breaking point.

Itachi was as surprised as Neji when Sasuke walked over, his gaze blank. His hand shot out and grabbed a fist full of long brown hair, pulling him so close their lips were only inches apart. Something very strange crossed his little brother's face as he tilted his head, his red gaze steady on white as he barely brushed against the other.

"Don't try to manipulate me unless you plan on following through with your implications." His voice was a low and cold murmur. Neji didn't back down, however, but he did try to pull his head back.

"I'll do whatever it takes to ensure Hinata-sama's safety."

The snarl that came from Sasuke could hardly be described as human "You don't even _know_ her and all of a sudden she's important to you?" he actually sounded jealous.

"She is all I have."

The older Uchiha could not sense auras but he did not have to be a Hyuuga to see how shocked and hurt his brother was by that statement. Sasuke had even jerked away as if the other male had burned him. There was a long moment of tense silence and Itachi couldn't help but wonder; what _was_ going on with those two? His brother acted...strange around Neji. The longer they were together the stranger Sasuke became. Whatever it was definitely involved hostility but there was much more to it than that. The look on his brother's face was one he hadn't seen in a long time.

_What is Hyuuga Neji to you, brother? Why do you behave so strangely around him?_

It made him think of Hinata and that night when he had kissed her. The dark suspicion that the two Hyuuga were actively trying to manipulate them returned briefly before he pushed it down. Hinata wouldn't harm a fly and Neji seemed to be the loyal and honorable type...to a certain extent – idiocy apparently was his limit. Still, it couldn't be coincidence that both Uchiha brothers were acting strange around the two surviving Hyuuga, a race known to be able to manipulate and shift auras.

It wasn't until the door closed that he noticed he was alone in the room with Neji. The long haired male's head was down, making seeing his expression difficult.

_No, it is not one sided. Hyuuga acts strangely around my brother as well. Why?_ Despite the bravado Neji had displayed a moment ago the moment Sasuke had left his shoulders had slumped slightly, as if defeated. He sighed in frustration and put a hand through his hair, turning slightly to face Itachi.

"Don't." he said and so Itachi remained silent. Whatever it was going on between the two of them, it honestly was none of his business.

So he changed the subject back to where it had been previously "This bet, what were the stakes? It had to have been something significant for Sasuke to refuse to call upon the Namikaze clan despite the odds."

Seizing upon the opening, Neji's face melted into one of scorn and disgust and he snorted "The stakes were that whoever lost would grovel at the winner's feet. That's not all, Naruto actually wrote a speech for Sasuke to say and everything."

Were he a man of lesser control he would have slapped a hand over his face in exasperation. "His pride has always been the most important thing to him and I can only imagine what he would have to end up saying."

Neji chuckled "I'll tell you. Basically, Sasuke is supposed to get on his knees in front of Naruto and say; 'I, Uchiha Sasuke, bow down before the greatness that is Uzumaki Naruto. He is a god in comparison to me and I should worship the ground he walks on –"

Onyx eyes widened "You're joking."

Neji's lips twitched in amusement. "It gets better. 'I will never live up to the greatness that is Uzumaki Naruto; he is better at me in all things and I am nothing in comparison. I will always be the inferior to him and even if I prayed for a _thousand years_ I would never be able to come close to...'"

"That's...that's enough." It took everything Itachi had not to laugh "Well, I can see now why Sasuke would rather 'die in obscurity' than do something like that." _Any_ man with some semblance of pride would be reluctant to utter such words. When Naruto went all out, he went all out. Itachi sighed "We will need to talk to Uzumaki ourselves; Sasuke will never do it if it's like that and you are right, we will need his support." He shook his head; the younger generations were so silly sometimes "I will talk to my brother and get him to listen to reason. You were an ambassador for the Hyuuga prior to Madara's attack; see if you can get him to...tone the speech down a bit."

The other male rolled his white eyes and made a noise. "I'll see what I can do." His tone implied that he probably wasn't going to try all that hard.

That actually reminded him of why he had been out and about in the first place "Hyuuga-san, there was something I had wanted to ask you, do you have a moment?"

Curiosity emerged on Neji's face "Feel free, Itachi-san. What can I assist you with?"

"You claimed that your kind can see other people's auras, but not their own, correct?"

Neji's brows narrowed in confusion "Yes, that is correct. Is something the matter?"

Because he was who he was, he did not hesitate to get to his point "The other night Hinata-san and I became close physically. Nothing truly happened but at the end of it she said she could no longer see my aura. Is that a common occurrence?"

The look the Hyuuga made the feeling of dread increase in his gut. Neji's face became white as a sheet and his actual facial expression was something akin to shock and horror. Something pained emerged and he finally looked away from Itachi.

"No...it is not a common occurrence but it is significant." He sounded sad and Itachi's feeling of foreboding increased.

"What does it mean?"

Shaking his head, Neji's look was a myriad of emotions – strange as he was normally so calm and showed little emotion "I can't tell you that." He sighed and moved to leave "It would change nothing if I told you but...it's something you'll have to discover on your own."

It wasn't until Neji was almost out the door that he spoke again.

"Tell me, Hyuuga-san...when and how _exactly_ did you lose the ability to see my brother's aura?"

xxxxx

A week later, Hinata began to have strange dreams of a young boy and his younger brother.

He had wild black hair, a mischievous smile and he got into trouble constantly. The time period was not familiar to her but it was definitely centuries old. Mostly, he played in the fields with his little brother, Izuna. The boy's name she didn't know, whenever someone addressed him the name always came out unintelligible.

She learned through the dreams that the two were very close; whatever the older boy did Izuna supported. The dreams were simple at first; the two boys growing up together, having fun and doing boy things. She knew they were vampires and there was something about Izuna that was oddly familiar.

Tonight's dream was completely different from all the others.

"_Izuna!" the young man put his arm over his mouth but it did little to stop the smoke from entering his lungs. Coughing, he trudged through their burning home; he had to find his little brother. _

_How did those damn human hunters find them? They were nowhere near civilization and the family had been staying away from the humans, using animals for food instead. It was disgusting but with the witch and demon hunts one could never be too careful._

_So how? Was there a traitor in their midst?_

"_Izuna!" damnit, where was he? Why wasn't he answering? He wasn't dead, he refused to believe that._

_There. It had been faint but he heard the soft cry. He ignored the fire licking at his clothes and skin as he pressed onward, crimson eyes narrowing. Moaning could be heard from the study and it took little effort for him to kick open the door. His brother was face down on the ground, barely moving. With a strangled cry, he rushed to his brother's side._

"_Izuna? Hang in there, I'm going to get you..." he paused, his face paling. Hands shaking, he trailed his fingers over the tears of blood streaking down his brother's face. "I-Izuna..." he croaked out, pulling him close "What happened? What..." rage filled him. Someone would pay for this. Someone would die. "Who did this? Who did this to you, Izuna?"_

_Eyelids caked with blood rose stiffly, revealing empty sockets. He frowned in confusion as his hand slowly rose to touch his older brother's cheek "Don't you remember?" he pulled his hand away, revealing fresh blood "You did. So you could finally see. You even set the house on fire, brother."_

_No. That wasn't possible. His free hand moved over his cheek and sure enough the wet substance that was beginning to cake and dry was, in fact, blood._

_His hands framed his brother's face and he dipped his head, pressing their foreheads together. The fire, the house collapsing around them, none of that mattered to him. He began to chuckle, a low thrum at first. Then he found himself throwing his head back and laughter filled the house, ringing over the roar of the fire and cracking wood. He laughed until tears mixed with blood and smoke filled his lungs, causing him to cough._

_Of course, how could he have been so stupid? The moment he had opened his eyes and seen the fire he should have known. He should have noticed something was off immediately for he..._

_He had been born blind._

Strong hands gripped her wrists in an almost bruising grip and she began to thrash about. She vaguely realized that she was screaming.

"Hinata!" a familiar voice cut through the haze of her mind "Hinata you must calm down!"

White eyes were wild as they scanned their surroundings. Her face burned but the fire was gone, the _pain_ was gone. She began to calm and forced her breathing to become even. The hard grip on her wrists slackened but she was not released. Like in the dream she felt someone press their forehead to hers and sigh softly.

"I...Itachi-san?" blinking, she felt confused and disoriented. Why was he in her room?

One of her wrists was released and she winced when his fingers brushed along her burning cheek. He pulled back and she started at his crimson gaze. He was trying not to show it but he was extremely worried. Without thinking, he pulled her into his arms in a tight embrace.

"I have never..." he began and then let out another breath "There are very few things that frighten or disturb me...watching you screaming and trying to claw out your own eyes has made it to the top of the list for now."

She stiffened. Was that why her face burned so much? "I...I'm sorry." What else could she say? She was still so out of it; that dream had felt so _real_. For a short period of time she had been Izuna and yet had not been him. She had felt his pain, physically and emotionally. Hinata was still shaken up and to top it off she was horribly fatigued. Something warm settled on her head and her face was pressed against Itachi's chest – that was when she realized she was crying.

Once she realized it she found that she couldn't stop; the tears kept coming and she found herself weeping loudly, shifting in his arms as she clung to him. For a very long time neither spoke; he held her and eventually her loud sobs became soft hiccups. Even long after the hiccups stopped he held her and she closed her eyes, feeling safe and warm.

Hinata let out a shaky breath. "I-I'm so sorry, Itachi-san. I..."

"If you are going to apologize for your reactions to the nightmare, don't." he finally shifted, his gaze blandly regarding the morning light that was filtering into the room. "If you are going to say anything, I'd like for it to be on how you are feeling." He paused "You do not have to tell me the dream if you do not want to, but I will listen nonetheless. Also," he pulled back, tilting her chin up to face him "when is the last time you have fed? You and I will always share a certain bond because I was the one who turned you...I can sense your hunger and it is rather intense."

Her face heated and she tried to flinch away from him but he had her secure. His hand moved from her chin to her scratched face "You have gone without for almost a week, haven't you? These are minor scratches, they should have healed almost instantly."

Looking away from him, she remained silent. Ever since Itachi had started avoiding her she had been unable to eat or sleep well. A part of her felt strangely empty and lethargic. She couldn't leave the estate and with the exception of Kiba and Neji; no one else bothered with her. Not even the person Itachi had sent as his replacement for her lessons wanted to have much to do with her and despite efforts to cheer her up she felt very lonely. Not having friends was something she was used to but for some reason without Itachi she just felt miserable. It had been like that ever since she had stopped being able to see his aura.

"Hinata." She looked up at him and he was frowning slightly "Vampires _can_ starve themselves to death."

She looked down; his stern tone making her feel worse. "I'm sorry. I just...haven't been able to..." she felt like crying again.

He must have picked up on it because when he spoke again his voice was much softer "It's fine." But it wasn't fine; he was very worried about her and she could somehow sense it even though she couldn't see his aura. Odd. "If you are still having problems adjusting I can take over your mind briefly. I will not force you to feed but your cousin would not forgive me if I did nothing about your suffering."

_Just Neji-niisan?_ She tried once again to put some distance between them "N-no that's...that's alright. I promise I'll, um, take care of it. I don't want to be any more of a bu –" she cut herself off but a quick glance at Itachi told her that he understood what she had been trying to imply.

"Hinata-san..." he began but she quickly cut him off.

"I don't..." she sighed "I'm used...to being alone." Shifting, she sat so that she was sitting with her legs hanging off the bed, her gaze on her lap "I've always preferred that to not being wanted at all."

Growing up she had hated it, the way a set of foster parents would become so frustrated and tired of her 'lies' to the point where her very presence caused them to look at her with disgust. Her time at the institution made her appreciate being alone. It was better to be alone than unwanted.

To her surprise, Itachi did not get up and leave, nor did he try to comfort her. For the longest time he didn't even look at her, merely stared at her wall in silence. It wasn't completely uncomfortable but it was a little tense. Suddenly, he turned to look at her "Will you tell me about your dream? If it is not too painful."

The image of the burning house and Izuna's eyeless stare made her shiver but there was something about the dreams that made her feel like they were important, that they were more than what they appeared.

"I've been dreaming about two vampire brothers," she began and noted the way her protector blinked at her "One of them looks..." she gasped, face lighting up for the first time in a while. Hinata turned to Itachi "Your brother! The boy in my dreams...he looks like Sasuke-san!" she frowned thoughtfully "But his name is different and...it feels like it happened a very, very long time ago."

He could not hide his slight surprise and confusion "He looks like my brother?"

"Mmhm." Her smile was small "His name is Izuna...the other boy's name I..." she stopped when she saw Itachi's eyes widen significantly and he leaned back.

"Hinata...are you _absolutely_ certain that was the man's name?" something in his expression seriously distressed her. He looked visibly upset but guarded "You are sure of this? And he looked like Sasuke?"

She shrunk into herself a bit, Itachi's emotional response deeply worrying her "Y-yes...that's what the other man called him...they were brothers, like I said."

"Izuna is..." he shook his head, changing his mind on what he wanted to say "please tell me the rest of your dream."

So she did. She told him about how it had started out with them as very young boys, playing and getting into things all the way until the night of the fire. He listened stoically and when she was finished he frowned in thought.

"Have you told anyone else of these dreams?" he asked her and she shook her head. He hummed thoughtfully "Your cousin has not confessed to experiencing anything similar?"

"N-no but...he's been looking very upset lately about something. I um, assumed it was because of Sasuke-san."

"That is an accurate assumption to make." Itachi leaned back and sighed "I do not believe in coincidences and after what you have just told me, it would appear that a greater force, possibly spiritual, guided you here at the right time." He straightened "Izuna was an Uchiha, a distant relative of mine, actually, and his brother...was Uchiha Madara."

All the blood in her face dropped and she stared at him in horror. This wasn't happening. If what Itachi said was true then she really _was_ the one that Madara was looking for...but why? Her hands flew to her mouth and she tried not to shake. In the dream when he had started laughing, she had gotten the distinct impression that the man was _insane_. Not the kind of insane that she had gotten locked up for; serious, deadly, serial killer insanity. She still didn't understand everything, like why he had been surprised about taking his brother's eyes and setting the house on fire, but something had snapped in that man that night; it had been as if something deeply buried had manifested itself.

"I am almost convinced that what you saw was possibly what truly happened that night." His expression was hard "what Madara told everyone does not match with what you saw in your dream...but many had not believed him in any case. Madara claimed that it had been the Senju clan, the Uchiha's enemy at the time, that they had attacked and that Izuna had tried to stop them and failed. He said that Izuna gave him his eyes so that he could take revenge and at the time tensions were so high no one thought to question it." He smiled thinly "It was not until I came into power centuries later that it came into question and only because my encounters with Madara had left me suspicious of him. He was a man who thrived on war and prior to me taking power, our clan had many enemies due to his antics. He went rogue because of me, I asked the right questions at the most inconvenient times for him." He smirked briefly "Ironic, as he was the one who encouraged my ascension. He had done it because I was young and promising, he thought he would be able to manipulate me because of my inexperience; as he had with my father."

The young Hyuuga hugged herself and looked away. Her body felt incredibly heavy; Madara really was after her, wasn't he? This extremely powerful, incredibly _insane_ monster was specifically looking for her and she didn't even know how to fight. How was she supposed to take someone like him on? Because he was looking for her, he was planning on possibly attacking her new home. People would die; they would die because for some reason there was something about her that was a threat and he would happily kill whoever got in his way to get to her.

"N-no..." she shook her head, putting her hands through her hair. She didn't want this. She didn't want a war to start because of her. She didn't want anyone to die because of her...but _she_ didn't want to die either. Hinata wanted to go back to her old life where she was just a somewhat strange girl working a full time job as a waitress with no friends because everyone thought she was a certified nutcase. She wanted to go back into her little crappy apartment and she wanted all of this to be a really bad dream. She didn't want Izuna's or whoever's memories; she wanted to be left alone.

Hands gripped her shoulders and she was turned to face Itachi. She couldn't read anything on his face nor could she sense his emotions. "Hinata, I do not think these dreams will stop; what was shown to you was only the beginning. I sincerely doubt it could be Madara's doing, so whoever, or whatever, it is that is doing this is trying to help you. You are being shown these things for a reason; try to remember every aspect of your dreams from here on, because I am sure somewhere in there Madara's weakness will be exposed." Her eyes widened in surprise – she hadn't thought of it like that. Heat returned to her face when a warm hand cupped her cheek and her protector leaned forward. He looked pained for just a second before he spoke again.

"I made an oath to protect you, Hinata, to atone for my crime against you." His thumb brushed along soft skin "I do not understand this bond between us...you know what I'm referring to."

She did, gods did she know. Hinata felt the pull just as strongly as he and she had felt so lost and confused – still did. When he was with her like this she felt as if she were being sucked into some sort of void and what was emerging from it was someone completely different. It was frightening but it also felt so _right_ and she just didn't know or understand anything anymore.

"I'm scared." She closed her eyes as the words escaped her lips in a soft whisper. Hinata had been nothing all of her life; a burden and strain to everyone that she had ever known and now she was _very_ important. What was she supposed to do against a centuries old madman? What if Itachi got hurt or even killed in trying to protect her? She hadn't wanted that from him, she hadn't wanted _anything_ from him. Not his life, not servitude, she had merely been happy to be alive. That he had saved her instead.

Hinata was only mildly surprised when the older vampire closed the distance between their lips but this time she was the one who was forward, needing something...anything. He did not crush her to him as he had last time, instead his arms wrapped around her slender frame and allowed her to lead although she honestly knew nothing about kissing someone. When she began to calm his arms tightened and she allowed him to take the lead. Still he did not pressure her nor was he aggressive; once they parted he pressed his forehead against hers and did not release her. His hand moved through her hair soothingly and she closed her eyes, wanting to do nothing but feel.

Everything he did felt so natural, like it had been done thousands of times before. She fit against him so perfectly and she felt so safe in his familiar yet not familiar embrace. Something warm was settling over them and instead of feeling as if she were being sucked into a void it now felt as if something was finally clicking into place. Hinata felt like herself and yet not herself...it was something more now. Why had she ever thought it to be frightening? It felt so wonderful, as if she had finally come home.

"I have said from the beginning that I do not believe in coincidences." His voice was a low rumble as she pressed her face into his chest "Our meeting, you coming to us before Madara could get his hands on you...how my oath to you came about, our bond, and now these dreams.

"I should have noticed it but whatever this bond is had led me to distraction. It had felt as if I was losing myself, but that wasn't it, was it? I am not a man in the habit of ignoring what is right in front of me when the evidence is obvious." He pulled back but kept her in his arms "We were brought together for a reason, meaning that whatever this is between us is a part of that."

She wasn't entirely sure of what was going on but the more he spoke the more relaxed he looked and the closer she felt to him. It seemed that his words had a calming effect on him as well, for Itachi looked as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"I understand your cousin's words now." He said it more to himself than to her "I believe I know what this is."

"Neji-niisan?" now he wasn't making any sense. What had Neji said to him? "I-I don't..."

"You are not a burden to me." He cut in and she looked away, feeling a little guilty for her words. She was forced to face him when he framed her face in his hands and Hinata was glad that her face was already red because the look in his eyes was just... "It is my deepest wish to protect you." He tilted his head and moved in closer "Because to me you are..." the sentence trailed off as he kissed her passionately.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Another chapter! Things are heating up here. Unbeta'd so I apologize for any crazy grammar issues. I'm not even going to estimate at this point when this fic will be finished, it keeps growing in small ways. Enjoy!

Edit: FF is very unforgiving sometimes and did some weird formatting thing at the end. It's fixed.

xxxxx

**5**

xxxxx

"Talked to Shikamaru," Kiba began, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair "Madara's got all his elite in his territory."

A darkly dressed man adjusted the shades on his nose "Madara is aware of the fact that the person he is looking for..." he inclined his head in Itachi's direction "Hyuuga Hinata, is in Uchiha custody. I was able to confirm that it was her specifically that he was searching for. She is the last of her kind, or so he says."

Clasping his hands together, Itachi leaned forward, resting his chin on them. His eyes flashed crimson for a moment before he looked up at the speaker "Aburame," his brows furrowed only slightly "do you know what he plans to do to her, or was he planning on simply killing her?"

The spy adjusted his shades again "Initially, the order was only to capture her to be brought to him. Now that she is in your domain, he wants her dead. I would advise you to be careful, there is one in his group that is an expert at infiltration."

"If you are referring to Zetsu," Itachi leaned back "don't. He was one of the ones I killed the night I fought off Madara and his subordinates."

"Hm. Are you absolutely certain of this? You destroyed both halves?"

He hadn't but he didn't reveal his miscalculation. Itachi had forgotten that Zetsu was some strange sort of race that he had never even heard of before much less knew anything about. How...annoying. He would have to keep Hinata very close, especially since she wasn't familiar with everyone who lived at the estate and could be deceived.

_But she can sense lies._ He mentally shook his head; relying on that would be naïve, one could deceive without having to lie. Perhaps his aura would give him away but Itachi didn't want to take any chances, not with her.

_Hinata looked at her hands and then at him, eyes wide and filled with wonder and surprise. "Itachi-san I...I can see your aura...and mine." A warm smile emerged on her gentle face "But it's different. And so beautiful. I never knew this was what my aura looked like."_

He had yet to tell her that he could actually see their aura as well. The ex clan head had no idea what that meant, only that when they had awakened that evening he had been able to see the soft glow around her and himself. Could it mean that their bond was somehow complete? If so, what had been the catalyst? More importantly, if it was so simple, why hadn't his brother and Neji bonded? Thirty years and the Hyuuga still couldn't see Sasuke's aura?

Itachi spared the man a glance as Neji looked over the reports from Shikamaru, frowning thoughtfully. Unlike Hinata, Neji had been raised as a Hyuuga and had been considered a genius, which meant he _knew_ fully what was going on and why...so why was he resisting so strongly? When he had formed his bond with Hinata all of his doubts and fears had vanished, he could only surmise that actually accepting what was going on with them was probably what the trigger was. Considering the two males' personality, any superficial issues would have been sorted out a long time ago. Neither his brother nor Neji were truly shallow individuals, meaning that there was something much deeper that wasn't being revealed.

A genius himself; it had not taken Itachi long to notice that the closer he had become with Hinata the more tense things had become with Neji and Sasuke. With them bonded now; he had a feeling something was going to happen and very soon. He wanted to help, because he loved his brother and his hurt, anger, and frustration was obvious. He was sure Hinata felt the same way about her cousin; something had to be done before it was too late.

Speaking of which... "Where is my brother?" the clan head, the same person who had called for the meeting, was absent. The Hyuuga did not react to the question but Itachi hadn't expected it – Neji was strangely closed off in general today.

No one knew and so the older Uchiha dismissed it, instead putting his focus back on the meeting.

"Uzumaki will be arriving in a few days to discuss the alliance in more detail," Aburame again "he has asked for the Sarutobi clan's support and an ambassador from them will be accompanying him."

That was good. The Sarutobi clan was another powerful force, not only that but Madara would _have_ to send his people through their territories to get to Uchiha lands, not unless he went to Orochimaru's Oto clan and that wasn't likely since the two clans didn't get along. They had been allies at one time but Madara was simply too overly ambitious and power hungry to remain allies with someone for long. If he used Orochimaru, it'd be by force.

"My clan will handle that," Kiba told Itachi when the Uchiha had voiced his thoughts out loud "Although Oto lands are practically like a backdoor to your territories, we're close enough to intercept them. If we got the Senju clan on this Madara's army won't stand a chance...and you know the Senju got it in for that guy."

He was more than well aware. "Very well, I will personally speak to Tsunade, she owes me a favor." When the other men looked at him strangely he smirked, closing his eyes briefly "She has the worst luck ever when it comes to gambling...and I do not." And that was all he was going to say on _that_.

Neji smirked as well which was mildly surprising. He knew Tsunade? Judging from the reaction it seemed as if the Hyuuga had firsthand experience; or at least knew enough. Well, that was interesting.

"I recommend another meeting before Uzumaki arrives with the status of final alliances." Shino said and the other men had no objections. The meeting was quickly wrapped up and Itachi decided he would try and find his brother. It was not like him to skip out on meetings, especially ones he had scheduled himself.

When he reached the wing where Sasuke's study was, he knew something was wrong. There was the thick sensation of energy in the air, familiar energy. He tried his brother's room but it was empty. Frowning and not a little worried, he knew the only other place he could be at on this wing would be his study, which was actually connected to his bedroom.

His suspicions were confirmed when, just before he had walked out the door, there was a crashing sound and he turned right as a computer monitor blew through the wall. A sense of dread filled him when he looked at the slowly melting appliance and quickly turned, using his speed to arrive at the front entrance. His hand hovered over the doorknob and, feeling the heat, decided to kick open the door instead.

Arm raised, his eyes narrowed as heat blasted through. Although it was perfectly controlled, Sasuke stood in the middle of the room, his body practically engulfed in black flame. Slowly, he tilted his head towards the disturbance, his gaze impassive. Raising his arms, the fire began to die down until the flames seemed to almost look like black smoke rising from his body.

The last time his little brother had been this upset had been when Madara had ordered one of his men to kill their mother, Mikoto. That had been over one hundred and fifty years ago. The particular power Sasuke was displaying was unique, only a handful of Uchiha currently had the ability; Itachi was one of them and Madara was another. Out of all the people who had the ability, however, Sasuke's was the strongest and most volatile. It was why his little brother tried hard not to let his anger get too out of control...yet right now he was calm. He was angry, that much was obvious, but it was controlled anger.

"I'm done." He said.

He was serious.

Itachi had a feeling his brother's breaking point was a reflection of his bond with Hinata becoming complete. He wondered if perhaps the four of them were connected but in different ways. "Otouto, please try and calm down."

"I _am_ calm."

_Let's try that again._ "Did you two get into an argument?" no sense in trying to play that he didn't know why his brother was upset.

"No." he turned his gaze from his brother and the heat in the room seemed to be diminishing; good. "Just woke up pissed off today." The flamed finally died and he let out a breath as he did "I need answers and he _will not_ give them to me. What the hell is he hiding?"

_So he also came to the same conclusion._ Not surprising, Sasuke was highly intelligent and observant.

"Do you know anything about what has been going on between the two of you?"

The younger Uchiha shrugged "Only what I was able to dig up, and even that much wasn't easy." He shook his head "A lot of it was highly religious, though. The Hyuuga were highly traditional and believed strongly in their ways. They had a code of honor that they lived strictly by. Ever since Madara wiped out his clan he's been pretty stubborn about keeping the traditions alive or whatever." He scowled "He knows what's going on, there's not much he _doesn't_ know when it comes to this stuff."

"Hn. Perhaps it's a fear of losing his identity then?" he crossed his arms in thought.

This got his attention "What?"

"Do you not feel it?" he had; it had terrified him "With Hinata, it had initially felt as if I was being pulled into some sort of void and what was emerging from it wasn't me. I had felt as if I were losing my identity. Perhaps for him, since he is one of the last of his kind, the idea of losing that is too much for him."

He seemed to contemplate this "No." he finally said and Itachi mentally sighed, because he hadn't entirely believed it either. "That's probably some of it, but that's not all." Sasuke shrugged "When it first happened I felt the same way, like I was becoming something I wasn't; but that didn't last long." He waved a hand dismissively "It's like being afraid of a rollercoaster or something; it's intimidating at first but then you realize it's not that big of a deal and you get over it." The scowl deepened and then he blinked, as if realizing something.

"Sasuke?"

"You and Hyuuga bonded?" he sounded confused and Itachi realized that he must have inadvertently revealed himself.

"Yes, although I don't know how. We did not do anything of significance."

"You just have to accept it." His brother put a hand through his hair and began to pace the half burned, practically destroyed room "It's so simple it's stupid; once you both recognize it you just accept and that's it."

That made sense; it would explain why he had felt so at peace yesterday morning. When he had seen Hinata like that, screaming and clawing at her face, something had come over him. While they had been talking he had been going over everything but in a different way. He had forced himself to look at all the facts and had come to the conclusion that he had been the problem concerning their situation and corrected it. "So then, it is not necessarily triggered by anything physical."

The look that emerged on his brother's face made his heart go out to him "No, I guess not."

_They've been intimate?_ He wasn't going to ask Sasuke that; there were just things family didn't ask one another, but he shouldn't have been surprised. Thirty years _was_ a long time and although he had not been intimate with Hinata it wasn't because he didn't want to. The desire was definitely there and it was intense, but he didn't want to act on it yet. Their bond was strong but in reality they were still somewhat strangers and Hinata needed support and reassurance, not a man she wasn't truthfully close to trying to get her under the sheets. Besides, he wasn't uncivilized; he would do his best to court her properly. Considering the bits and pieces he had picked up about her life, Hinata needed someone to show her she wasn't the things people had thought of her growing up.

Something needed to be done "If you want, I will talk to Hinata and see if she will try to –"

"No." Sasuke shook his head, looking thoughtful. After a moment the younger brother looked at the older brother "I know what I'm going to do, but I'm going to need your help." He hesitated "It's going to be underhanded and dirty..."

"Otouto," he smiled sadly "I have tried my best to live an honorable and just life; however, for the ones I love...there is very little I will not sacrifice. Tell me what I need to do."

xxxxx

_Carefully, the Hyuuga grand master put down the papers, smoothing them out in front of him. He regarded them for a moment longer before he pulled out his lighter and lit them on fire. Ignoring the quickly growing pile of ashes, he stood up from his chair._

"_Uchiha Madara, you are as insane as the rumors claim." White eyes slid over to the man leaning against the wall of the small conference room, a grin on his face and arms crossed. "I understand that I am rather old, but I am not senile. Did you honestly believe that I would _give_ you my people on a silver platter? These papers...you are asking me to, basically, allow you to run my clan through the shadows. We have been a neutral party from the beginning, Hyuuga have no interest in your petty little squabbles and blood thirst, Uchiha. I –"_

_The grand master's eyes widened and his hands slid up to his abdomen, the object that cut him off firmly embedded to the hilt._

"_You talk too much, old man." Madara said calmly, his crimson gaze narrowing "Luckily for me I only need your blood to seal the contract and I now have that in abundance." He chuckled lightly "You were a fool for agreeing to come out here alone."_

_One hand moved to grip the traitor's shoulder while the other, bloodied hand reached for his face. He opened his mouth to speak and the Uchiha leaned forward mockingly, knowing well that the man could whisper and he still hear it._

_The small smirk he had disappeared when instead of speaking, the old man slapped his hand over his face and streaked down. Startled, he took a step back and let go; leaving the knife in his victim._

_Blood bubbled from the Hyuuga's lips and abdominal wound to pool around his knees and he bowed his head. The low sound of an ancient language filled the room, a language that Madara knew all too well. Eyes widening, he tried to wipe the blood from his face but not only would it not come off, it began to shift and form a strange script. Crimson eyes blazed as he looked at the other man with rage._

_The pool of blood also began to move, encasing the two of them some sort of strange circle. Intricate script similar to what was emerging on Madara's face, along with strange symbols and markings, filled the center._

_Removing the knife, the grand master put a hand to the wound and raised his head, smiling "You were the fool...who did you think you were dealing with?" he tried to laugh but ended up coughing blood instead._

_The Uchiha was there then, grabbing the man's robes and lifting him slightly. The temperature in the room began to rise, black flames began to rise from his body "Undo this." He almost snarled the words out "You don't know what you're messing with."_

_Another failed chuckle "Tell me, Madara, did you ever ask yourself...why Hyuuga means...'towards the sun'?"_

_A warm golden glow filled the small room, the markings on the Uchiha's face also turned golden and began to melt into his skin. "Hyuuga!" his expression was a mixture of hatred and fear. He shook the old man "Undo this!"_

_The Hyuuga, however, was no longer looking at him. His gaze seemed far away and the smile never faded "My Lady...Amataresu...thank you...I see it now." The dying man slumped and Madara grabbed him, forcing him down on his knees. He coughed and forced his gaze back to his killer "Uchiha Madara, I curse you; She has answered my summon. The blood you've spilled...will be the blood of your undoing. You'll never accomplish...your..."_

_The light from the circle faded and all that was left was the pool of blood around the Hyuuga, the circle was gone._

_Madara hissed and dropped the body as he stood, his hands flying to his face. It felt as if someone was taking a hot needle and burning..._

_He stormed to the window and sure enough there they were, the markings from earlier. They spread all over his face, covering the entire left side and almost the majority of the right. They glowed hotly and then faded, leaving the markings as black tattoos. He stood there, staring past his reflection and into the night, one hand still over his face. Silence reigned for a very long time._

"_Zetsu."_

_There was the sound of cracking plaster as one of his elite began to emerge from the far wall "Yes?"_

_He didn't speak for a full minute "The Hyuuga. I miscalculated."_

"_Hm...do you mean with the grand master knowing the forbidden arts?" he stretched but remained a part of the wall. Since he was normally near his master's side he, of course, had seen everything "I have never seen someone successfully summon the powers of Amaterasu. Didn't you try to summon her once to cure your blindness?"_

_He ignored the question "Send out the order," he turned to Zetsu then "the Akatsuki is to kill all Hyuuga, I don't care if they're only a quarter, _all of them_. They're only useful to me dead now."_

"_Very well." He faded back into the wall._

_Calmly, the traitor turned and walked over to the corpse of the fallen Hyuuga, his face hard, gaze cold._

"_You knew." Knowing he wouldn't get an answer, he kicked the man's head in frustration "You planned this from the beginning, didn't you?" the flames from before began to rise from the Uchiha "I hope the annihilation of your race was worth it." Rage bubbling over he blasted the body with black fire, turning it to ash almost instantly._

xxxxx

Hinata gasped as she jerked into a sit up position on the bed. Immediately she felt arms wrap around her and she was pulled against a strong chest. Her hands rose to her face and she shook a bit before taking a deep breath, leaning against Itachi.

"M-my great grandfather..." she began, the remnants of the dream still fresh in her mind "placed a binding spell on Madara."

"A binding spell?" he sounded truly surprised. Once she had calmed he put only a bit of distance between them but kept his hands on her arms, rubbing up and down slowly in a soothing motion. "There must be a mistake, a binding spell requires a contract with a god, it's a forbidden art and there have been no successful attempts recorded."

Putting a hand to her mouth she looked up at him and shook her head slightly. She was beginning to feel better, Hinata could see their combined aura shifting and fluctuating, his side moving to hers and soothing over her unease and nausea. Watching it was fascinating, like the body's immune system fighting off a sickness. Everything about their bond was so amazing, she was still in awe over it all, especially over the fact that she was bonded to _him_; this beautiful and powerful man.

A regal brow rose "What are you thinking?" a small smile emerged "I have not been able to determine all of the colors for emotion, but when we are in contact like this I can get a general idea from sensing."

"J-just that it's amazing to me t-that..." Wait a second. Her jaw dropped and she stared at him. His smile widened slightly "Y-you can..."

"I can see only our auras, no more than that." Itachi was clearly amused by her reaction "But you are right, it is...beautiful." he cleared his throat and leaned back, taking her with him to lie on the bed. His arm went around her when she curled up by his side, resting her head on his chest "Tell me about the dream."

"Well...it's um, hard to explain. This time, even though I couldn't sense anyone's emotions, I knew what was going on. Like the man, I just knew he was my great grandfather and the curse, I knew what it was, it was a little strange." She told him the rest of the dream, leaving nothing out "I don't think that Madara knows what exactly it does...I got that feeling from the dream. But at the same time...all I know is that it's a curse; it didn't tell me anything about how it was supposed to work in regards to defeating him."

The vampire made a noise "Unfortunate. So then, we know Madara's weakness, but we do not know how to exploit it. You said you know what the curse is, what can you tell me?"

Biting her lip, she took a moment to think of how she wanted to word herself before continuing "The curse was special, I think if Madara had known..." she buried her face into his chest, fighting back tears "If he had known, he wouldn't have killed all the Hyuuga. Th-the person has to not only be from great grandfather's direct lineage but they have to share a certain ability that only he had. He was a prodigy, there was something about him that made him different from all of us..." she shook her head "But I don't know what. And then..."

He shifted so that he could look at her "There is something else?"

"Yes but," she frowned thoughtfully, biting her lip again – the nervous habit that replaced finger poking "I don't know. There was more to the curse than that; something really important, but the dream didn't tell me what it was. There was only a feeling that there was more there."

He didn't look disappointed but she could sense that he was; that and slightly frustrated. It wasn't directed towards her, it was more towards the situation. He wanted to protect her but with little information it made things more difficult.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Itachi."

His arm tightened around her and she felt his lips brush along her forehead "Don't apologize, I have no intentions of letting anything happen to you regardless. With _that_ said," he sat up and looked down at her "You have stopped feeding again. Why?" he didn't look angry with her but she could see that he was worried and agitated.

From here on out there was no way the two of them would ever be able to utter an untruth or hide any secrets and she had mixed feelings on it. It wasn't that she was the type of person to have anything to hide but it was a little exposing. The bond they shared made it impossible for her to doubt his sincerity towards her and neither of them would ever leave each other – they couldn't even if they wanted to.

Mostly she just didn't want him to worry about her and it seemed that it was all he did. It made her feel as if she was dragging him down. She wanted to be a source of strength for him but instead she felt like his sole weakness.

It wasn't that she hadn't fed; it was the fact that when she tried her body rejected it. Hinata wasn't sure why but she could no longer ingest the blood provided for the clan, she ended up puking it all out hours later. Itachi was worried about her enough and he was also planning with other people on dealing with Madara's growing army...because of her.

"Hinata." He framed her face in his hands. His expression was slightly pained; he was confused, concerned, and sad "Whatever it is, I won't become angry with you over it but not feeding is a serious issue. You not only risk starving to death but you also risk harming others...as I had the night we met."

"O-oh Itachi," she flung her arms around him; he still felt horribly guilty over it and she had never once blamed him. "It's not like that I...I've tried but my body won't let me keep anything down. I don't know why." He held her and she sighed "I'm sorry..." she didn't even really know what she was apologizing for.

"As am I." his arms tightened around her "_Hinata._"

A gasp escaped her when she felt her body lock up as it had the night they had met. He didn't look at her, instead he moved her head until her lips brushed along his neck. What was this called again? Itachi had called it 'Voice'; he was going to force her to feed? But wasn't it forbidden to 'take from the source'? Did he think she was lying about not being able to keep anything down? No, he had to know that she couldn't lie to him anymore than he could to her.

As much as she wanted to feel hurt and manipulated, she had a feeling that this was the sort of person Itachi was. He was not an intrusive person but when it came to something important he did what he had to do...even if it meant hurting the other person emotionally.

She couldn't fault him for it.

She couldn't hate him for it.

And she knew, right then and there, it was because she was in love with him.

"_Take what you need from me._" Was the command and her body hesitated only as long as it took for her to open her mouth and sink her fangs into his flesh.

xxxxx

Although he had been living in the estate for almost twenty-six years, the Hyuuga found that he had never once fully gone down the wing that held Sasuke's study and bedroom. For one, the wing was closed off, no one else lived there. The rooms that the Uchiha used were the rooms that the clan heads before him had used, even Itachi at one point. The estate looked modern but it had undergone countless renovations to keep up with the times.

Why he had been summoned to the practically abandoned wing he had no idea but as he walked down the dark and quiet hall he began to feel apprehensive. Sasuke hadn't gone to the meeting earlier, no one had seen him and he had ordered everyone to stay away from the very wing he was walking through for the day.

"_This shouldn't have happened."_

_Onyx eyes merely glanced at him, his expression revealing nothing. The Hyuuga put a hand through his hair; so it was true, one did stop seeing the other's aura when the two share any form of intimacy._

_He felt ill. Ashamed. It was so wrong; he would never be able to forgive himself for this, for what he had done._

_Nothing was said as the other male slowly dressed. They did not speak, they did not look at each other._

"_You're right."_

_Their gazes met then but he couldn't read anything from the Uchiha and it was the most disconcerting feeling he had ever experienced. He realized then just how reliant he had been on his abilities to see and read people. Without his ability to read auras, he was just as clueless as the average human. If he didn't feel like utter shit he might have found the irony funny._

"_It shouldn't have happened, so it didn't." the Uchiha shrugged as if it didn't matter to him, given his reputation as a playboy, it wasn't terribly surprising. "See ya." He did not look back._

Neji put a hand through his hair in frustration; why did he start thinking about that after so long? That had happened shortly after he had first arrived at the estate, before he had clamped down on his conflicting emotions for the clan head. After that Sasuke had gone back to his normal night life and it had never been mentioned again. He thought he had managed to finally forget the entire ordeal himself.

The room he walked into was unusually cold and dark. He tried to shift his vision to see if anyone was in the room; Hyuuga did not have the same sort of night vision abilities as vampires and lycanthropes. The door closed and he was encased in darkness. The room began to feel even colder.

_No._

Gasping, his knees hit the ground as he fought to keep himself centered. It wasn't cold, his energy was being drained; that was what the cold sensation was. It was then that he saw the familiar runes on the floors and walls. They were Hyuuga markings, normally used on prisoners to keep them from using their abilities. His ability to manipulate aura, use Juuken; it had just been stripped from him.

He couldn't run. He couldn't fight.

"Sasuke."

"Sorry," the light was turned on and white eyes narrowed as he took in the green markings and the Uchiha who was blocking the exit. Just like that night he could read nothing from him "but asking you for the past twenty plus years hasn't done shit, so it's going to be like this." He crossed his arms and eyes flashed crimson "We're settling this once and for all Hyuuga; right the hell now."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** Um, if you were hoping for the SasuNeji confrontation...it's not in this chapter. But I come bearing something just as good so please to not be throwing rocks at me.

Initially the confrontation _was_ in here, but the ItaHina scene was so long it became its own chapter, so I moved the SasuNeji bit over. In place you get ItaHina lovings. So yes, this chapter is a lemon and if you're surprised I'm surprised, because this is me and it's 'M' for a reason.

Don't ask me when I think this fic will be finished. I have absolutely no idea. I blame my brain for being unable to make a short story(but I'm having a lot of fun nonetheless!).

With the Literate Union on their crusade to rid FF of certain fics; the lemon scene will probably get cut out eventually and the full chapter posted on my LJ. Till then, enjoi.

Lady: I do hope you enjoy the smut.

xxxxx

**6**

xxxxx

Her fingers ghosted over the cool metal resting along her chest and she smiled warmly at the mirror. Strong hands rested on her bare shoulders and slid down her arms as Itachi bent down, pressing his lips along the pulse on her neck.

The necklace was beautiful and looked very old; the ruby pendant sparkled lightly as the waning glow of the sun reflected off the mirror onto it. A small smile was on his face as he looked up at her reflection in the mirror. His dark gaze seemed heated but his facial expression revealed little. Not that it mattered; she could see the light colors of desire in his aura. Her face flushed and she looked down and away; embarrassed.

"It was my mother's." his voice is warm and deep. Hinata turned slightly to face him, surprised. His mother's? "There were certain items that she wanted us to have should anything happen to her; that necklace was one of those."

Her surprise turned into sadness "Oh. I'm...sorry for your loss Itachi." She said sincerely and he briefly shook his head.

"It's fine; my mother lived a happy life." He pulled her closer and his arms wrapped around her shoulders as he bent his head, his lips back at her neck "What...is that scent?" he murmured and she shivered at the way his voice seemed to drop to a rumble "It is...different."

Another shiver went through her when she felt his lips slide up her neck and his hands shifted to move back up her arms "U-um..." thought processes ceased when she felt him pressing feather light kisses against her heating skin. The soft color that had been in his aura was steadily growing brighter "I um...a-asked someone if th-they could buy me um..." she leaned her head back when she felt the sharp points of his fangs drag along her skin. What was going on with him? "there was this sp-special soap that I uh...used..."

"It smells like...lavender." his hands were at her hips now "It suits you."

"Oh." She said lamely "Th-thank you."

"Hn."

He definitely sounded distracted as his hands moved up her side "You have not fed yet." He practically purred the words and her breath hitched a bit.

Hinata tried very hard not to take it as a blatant invitation to something intimate like it sounded. They had learned that she was no longer able to ingest blood unless it was directly from him. Since it was not something Itachi was having issues with they determined it was because she had been turned and not born a vampire.

Taking from Itachi was...intense. The first night when he had forced her to feed the way he had gripped her and the way his aura had flared had told her enough. He absolutely refused to take her blood and a part of her was a little relieved – it had not been a pleasurable experience last time. Every time after that he had seemed fine enough on the outside but his aura would react the same way it had that first night. It did not diminish as the days went on; if anything it seemed that his desire for her increased, to the point where whenever they were together – which was practically all the time – he was in a constant state of desire for her.

He knew that she was aware of it but it was never addressed. Another night would go by and the color slowly grew more intense. She was positive it was uncomfortable for him and she wondered if she should make the first move – he certainly wasn't going to do it. Honor and all that.

"Hinata?" he pulled back, frowning slightly "Is something the matter?" his hands went back to her arms and she watched in fascination as concern mixed in with desire and an emotion that had still not been discussed between the two of them.

They were bonded. They would be spending the rest of their lives together. In a sense they were technically married and the thought made her blush and turn away again. She was such a socially awkward person; she had never really even had a friend and now she was with this perfect and beautiful man who genuinely cared about her – another thing she had gone without her entire life. Most of the time she didn't feel at all deserving of someone like him because she was...

"Hinata."

When she turned to him her eyes widened as his lips slid over hers in a hard kiss. Startled, she gripped his shirt when his arms went around her and pulled her flush against him. He gently coaxed her to part her lips and she was unable to hold back the soft sigh when he deepened the kiss; his grip tightening. A hand moved through her hair and slender fingers brushed along her jaw line, down her neck and back up to cup her cheek. His body felt very warm to the touch and she noticed for the first time that Itachi seemed to always be abnormally warm. Was it because he was a vampire?

She was breathless when his lips rose from hers and she looked up into his warm blood red eyes. She found herself fascinated by their beauty, they were almost hypnotizing. His hands framed her face and she could see his concern in his aura.

"I cannot read your thoughts," he began "and I still know little of the colors but there seems to constantly be a..." he paused a moment "depressing shade to your aura. I have noticed that it increases in my presence." His thumbs brushed along her skin "Am I doing something to upset you, Hinata?"

Confusion and worry increased when instead of responding she burst into tears, hands covering her face. Itachi remained silent, instead putting his arms around her gently.

"I-I'm so sorry I..." she began, her watery voice muffled "Please d-don't think it's you...it'd never be..." her next few words were somewhat unintelligible but with his superior hearing and intelligence he was able to somewhat decipher what she said.

"You feel as if you do not deserve me." It was not a question and when she slowly nodded he actually sighed "I wonder if you see the irony in that statement."

Wiping at her tear streaked face Hinata looked up at him but his warm gaze had disappeared. Not warm but not cold either; almost detached. "I...I-Itachi I..."

"Although it pains me to hear those words, I understand." She blinked and he smiled thinly "From what I have learned about your past; you grew up unloved and being made to constantly feel that you were lacking or that you weren't a good person because no one believed you had powers." The smile disappeared "I know that I am not unattractive, but I am not perfect." His gaze flickered to her neck, fingers brushing along her skin "If I were truly perfect, I would not have almost killed the other half of my spirit. I would have never laid a hand against you, I would have preferred death." He shook his head "It is not you who is undeserving; it is I. Anyone else would not have forgiven me for doing such a horrible thing to them. You not only forgave me, you accepted the bond between us. How many individuals would have turned down the option to have someone like me as their slave? To do with as they wished? Only a truly beautiful person would do such a thing for the reasons you did them for."

She was at a loss for words so she simply stared up at him, tears shining in her eyes but for a completely different reason. He couldn't lie to her so that meant he truly believed his words and she felt so many things she couldn't even pinpoint one accurately. No one had _ever_ told her that she was beautiful; no one had ever looked at her with the love and warmth he was currently displaying. Neji cared for her, that much was true, but mostly it was because she was the last of their kind besides himself. He didn't really know her well although he was kind and never became angry or disappointed in her when he was training her to use her abilities fully. It was still difficult for her to believe even with the truth in front of her; but she found herself _wanting_ to believe him.

Seeing that he had reached her the Uchiha kissed her again and this time she eagerly returned it, wrapping her arms around his neck and trying to pull him as close to her as possible. He chuckled at the display and leaned back "I've been alive for a long time; you are not the first individual I've met who grew up unloved for being different. It will take a long time before you will truly feel as beautiful as I see you and that is fine; we have eternity." He paused for a moment and she could see uncertainty beginning to emerge although his face revealed nothing.

When it faded he buried his face in her neck, inhaling softly. "I had wanted to wait to do this as I had wanted to properly court you, however, while I do wish to show you how beautiful you are to me the simple truth is that I am having difficulties resisting your allure. I know you have seen it in my aura -" when she tensed slightly she could feel his wry smile "as I have seen it in yours. Knowing that has made things...difficult."

Her face began to heat; so a part of it had been him reacting to her growing desire for him. She did desire him – what woman _wouldn't?_ – but her feelings for him had been...no, still were conflicted. The Hyuuga didn't feel beautiful enough to be by his side, he obviously felt differently. She felt that she didn't deserve him; he _definitely_ felt differently on that subject. She wanted to be a source of strength for him even though she mostly felt like a hindrance.

_But if I want to be his strength...I guess...I have to believe in myself first._

She would try with all of her might, because he was the first person to ever truly love her and he deserved nothing less.

That was easier said than done. Where would she begin?

"_You have not fed yet."_ Of course that was the first thought that would come to her mind. Would he be upset with her if she made the first move? Would he think she was a loose girl? Would he...

_Stop that._

It was obvious that she had completely surprised him, for he actually let out a strangled gasp, tensed, and a shiver went through him when she bit his neck. "Hinata..." his voice was low, deep, and very heated as he whispered her name. It was still strange to her to gain her sustenance from someone else's blood and her eyes glazed over for a moment as it always did to keep her body from wanting to gag at the strange adjustment to her diet.

It must have been because he had not been prepared, for his breathing became labored and his hands gripped her arms a little tighter than normal. A hand delved into her hair but he continued to only hold her, he made no other moves.

When she pulled away was when he moved; lips capturing hers in an almost bruising kiss. His hands slid along her neck, thumbs brushing along her skin as his tongue plunged into her mouth. A low noise emerged from the back of his throat at the lingering taste of blood. They parted, his hands sliding down to her shoulders while trailing kisses along her neck. She shivered as his tongue darted out, trailing along the pulse. A low growl.

"I-it's okay..." although she was nervous and apprehensive it was easy for her to sense his desire to take her blood. With them being bonded it was okay, right?

"No." it was said firmly. Pulling back, he looked at her, fully taking her in. It was obvious he was searching for something. While she had no idea what he seemed to and, seemingly satisfied with what he found, dipped his head to kiss her again.

She felt as if she were melting into his arms and his kisses. He was obviously more experienced than she – but he had said that he was very old so that would make sense. Doubt began to creep back in; he'd probably had a lot of lovers...would she be good...

"Hinata." His tone sounded chastising, as if he had picked up on her thoughts. A soft cry escaped when her balance shifted and found herself being carried bridal style to her bed. Pale lavender took in deep crimson as she was gently placed down. Warmth from his body filled her as he slid on top of her, hovering.

Instead of kissing her his lips brushed along hers, down her jaw and neck. There was the sound of ripping fabric and her eyes widened as she took in the jagged line that had split her blouse in half. His brows rose in slight inquiry.

"Were you attached to it?" he sounded amused as his hands parted the fabric, revealing pale skin and full breasts covered in pale purple lace. She squirmed under him when his lips brushed down over her collarbone to the swell of her breast.

"Um...i-it was my favorite." Coherent thought was currently lacking as heat grazed sensitive skin through her bra, his lips still grazing over a hardening nipple. Another gasp escaped. She felt him smirk slightly.

"I will buy you a better one." He murmured and she honestly didn't know if she should feel offended or not.

It really had been her favorite blouse. She hoped it didn't become a habit.

There was a snapping noise and her breasts were freed from the confines of her bra. This time she let out a small noise, a frown on her pretty face as she regarded the sharp nail that had just sliced the front of her bra open. Itachi, however, looked absolutely unrepentant and borderline amused and she had a feeling he had done that on purpose to get a reaction from her.

He was teasing her.

She absolutely loved it. Loved him.

"Th-that...b-bras aren't cheap you know..." came the weak protest. His response was a simple 'Hn' as his hand slid lacy fabric away from one breast. When she spoke again it came out a little shaky as his lips brushed over the dusty pink peak, warm breath sending small jolts of pleasure through her nerves down to her core. "Th-they're..."

"Mmhm." He sounded distracted and she shivered when the warmth of his breath shifted to the wet heat of his tongue.

Her eyes closed as another breath left her "Really...um..."

"Yes?" she really wanted to be miffed at the obvious teasing but then his other hand slid up and under the fabric of her other breast and she moaned softly when he squeezed gently.

"Expensive." It came out as a rush of breath. A shiver went up her spine when he finally took the hardened bud into his mouth, rolling the other between his fingers. Her hands delved into silky hair, undoing the tie. Inky black strands whispered over her skin as she did, sending a strange tickling yet pleasurable sensation through her.

Lips and tongue trailed to the other breast, leaving her bereft and needy. This time his hand slid down from her chest and smooth stomach to even lower. As he reached his destination he placed a light kiss against sensitive flesh before trailing back up to her ear. She whimpered softly when his tongue trailed along the shell of her ear.

"You are..." the words were a low rumble and her breath caught as his hand slid underneath the waistband of her skirt and under thin laced panties. She could hear him breathing, soft and calm and yet so sensual along her skin. Fingers expertly slid along her folds and into her core and she arched her back, lips parting. "Beautiful."

He swallowed her moan with a hard kiss as he continued to move one finger in and out of her. She tried to buck her hips against his hand but he held her steady partly with his body. The room began to feel almost unbearably hot and she realized it was because _he_ had become hotter; his body temperature was rising.

"I-Itachi..." delicate hands slid underneath the silk shirt to trail up heated skin. He made a soft noise of appreciation as he slid another finger into her entrance, stretching her. It felt a bit uncomfortable but he had a way of making one forget their discomfort. There was a slight pleasurable sting as his teeth sank into the sensitive flesh of her nipple before soothing it over with his tongue, sucking lightly. Her nails dug into his skin and she raised her back in response to his ministrations.

He was somewhat straddling her leg so when she raised it, brushing against his straining erection, he actually groaned; sending little shocks of pleasure rippling through her. His mouth lifted and she felt his breath shake only slightly as he slid the third finger, fangs brushing along her skin. She could feel it, he was barely controlling the urge to bite her. Where before she had been a little apprehensive she now wanted him to, it felt right somehow.

So she tried again "Itachi..."

"No." the slight strained note in his voice made it sound a lot less firm of a denial than before.

She licked her lips "Please, I -" The plea was cut off as the tension inside of her began to rise as he continued to stretch and stroke her.

It took a moment for him to reply "Not yet." He finally murmured, giving in. Lips, tongue, and teeth moved along her skin, kissing, licking, sucking, biting. With his fingers he had her squirming and trying to move her hips with his strokes. It felt as if all the heat in her body was shifting to one central location and her entire body tensed as if in anticipation for something. The tension and heat kept rising, her breaths coming out short and hard. Whenever she was coherent to remember she would try to rub her leg against him which usually earned her a small grunt or, at one point, a low growl.

Nails dug in deeper and raked up slowly as her back arched and the tension in her body quickly came to a breaking point. Moans and soft cries escaped her; her mind chanting 'just a bit more...please just a bit more' right as she reached her peak.

And then he stopped.

She tried very hard not to show it but when he met her gaze, amusement in his eyes, Hinata knew that he had seen the flare of agitation and frustration in her aura. He kissed her then, bracing his weight on his knees as his hands moved to his clothes. She noted through their kisses that _he_ was slowly removing his shirt and undoing his pants and a very small logical part of her noted to mention that later.

A cry of protest left her when, after he had removed his pants, sliced a razor sharp nail through the waistband of her skirt and the thin strap of her panties. "Itachi..."

"Lift your hips." Came the soft command and he silenced any further protests with his lips over hers. She did as instructed and another moan left her when his skin pressed along hers.

"You're so..." she closed her eyes.

"Hm?"

"Warm."

"Hn." He sounded amused "I would hope so."

That wasn't what she meant and he knew it but all protests were cut off again when she felt his knee spread her open a bit more. A hot hand slid up her thigh, coaxing her to wrap it around his waist. He lowered his hips and both let out strained noises when he rubbed along her damp core. Hips rocked slowly and it felt so amazing that she had no words. Everything about him was beautiful and sensual; she felt as if she was drowning in him.

Trying to be more daring, she slid her hands from his back to his arms. She was surprised at just how well muscled he was underneath the clothes – he was not nearly as thin as he looked. Dainty fingers traced hard muscle and sinew, from his forearms, up his shoulders and down his back. When she wrapped her other leg around his waist he stopped moving his hips and pulled back to look at her.

The room was now pitch black but that didn't matter for the two of them. His eyes seemed to almost glow like twin moons as he stared down at her with obvious lust and love. She fought back tears at the sight before her. Hinata still didn't feel as if she deserved him but gods was she happy she had him. As long as he wanted her, she would never let him go...she was too selfish.

"I am sorry but it will be painful." His voice was near her ear again "Please hang on to me..." she felt him smile slightly "And do not worry about hurting me."

The line confused her until she felt him position himself and his mouth trail over the pulse in her neck. His lips pressed against it "You are beautiful," his voice was full of sincerity "and I love you."

There was the sharp sting of his fangs that quickly turned into white hot pleasure; so intense that when he thrust inside of her there was heavy discomfort but not extremely painful. Her cries were loud in the room as he took her blood, for with each gulp another wave of pleasure swept through her. He did not take much but it was enough time to where she felt that her body had adjusted to his girth.

He licked her neck as he began to move his hips. A low noise escaped as he shivered, tight muscles wrapping around him like a glove. "Oh, _gods_...Hinata..." his arms wrapped around her as he slowly pumped in and out "It has been so long and you..."

Arching her back, she tried to move with him but it was awkward so she decided to let him let him lead. Her hands slid up his back and she gasped when her fingers felt slick and wet. Had she...?

"It did not hurt." He reassured her, his breaths more labored "It...actually..." it seemed that thinking really wasn't on his agenda either at the moment. His hands slid to her thighs and his thrusts increased in speed, fingers digging into skin "...felt incredible."

Just his voice alone, how deep and heated it sounded, was sending little tremors through her. Her thoughts were chaotic and yet organized at the same time. He was holding her, he was _inside_ of her. She could feel him, this man was moving in and out of her. The small sounds of pleasure coming from him was because of her.

Their gasps filled the hot room. She lightly ran her nails up his arms and his response was to possess her mouth; his tongue moving inside and exploring. His thrusts increased and he moaned against her mouth.

Like before, she felt her body tense except this time she felt herself tense around him. She began to get a feel for his rhythm and when she rolled her hips up to meet his thrust he abruptly broke from their kiss, gasping. The low rumble that came from him didn't sound exactly human and yet it seemed to make her body tense and shiver with pleasure.

Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly as her thighs increased their grip on his waist. At this point his thrusts had gone from a slow rhythm to hard and fast and she felt him begin to thicken inside of her. Sweat drenched their bodies and Hinata literally felt as if she was going to burn up his body was so hot.

"Hinata." She shivered at his voice near her ear "I want you to...once more..."

Understanding, she turned her head when he exposed his neck to her. The heat and tension kept building and building until she thought she would go mad from pleasure. Like before all of her heat seemed to shift down to her core until she felt it reach a breaking point. Right as she felt herself cross the threshold she heard the soft command for her to go ahead.

One hand delved into his hair, gripping hard, while the other raked up his back as it all seemed to crumble down into a sea of pleasure. Her teeth sank into his neck again as she came and the action actually caused him to cry out. His body shook as he filled her, his moans, while lower and softer, mingled with hers as time and thought halted and there was nothing but feeling.

When she finally felt herself float back down to her body she was panting and her arms were around her lover. Itachi's forehead was resting along her neck but his breaths were also somewhat labored. His weight wasn't on her but she still felt incredibly hot because of him. Now that her mind wasn't addled with lust it was almost uncomfortable.

"Itachi?"

With a grunt he shifted, his arms wrapping around her as he rolled over to his side, pulling her against him. Lips brushed along her temple and her hands slid up his chest. She had to resist the urge to push him back a bit and he must have noticed for he leaned back a bit; darkening eyes inquisitive.

"Um...you're...really, really hot." She explained and he stiffened "I m-mean..." she stopped because the moment she said it his body temperature suddenly dropped to a more normal level. She was still very warm but touching him didn't feel so uncomfortable.

His hand brushed along her bangs and he looked apologetic "Forgive me...I'll have to ensure I control myself better." His brows furrowed "Did I...I did not burn you, did I?" he sounded calm but his aura was beginning to show signs of concern, guilt, and even a bit of fear. His hands began to trail her skin, as if looking for burn marks.

"N-no, no!" she shook her head quickly and, a bit embarrassed, she ducked her head, burying her face in his chest "It didn't hurt at all but um, is there a reason why...?"

"Yes," he sighed and she let out one of her own when a hand began to slide up and down her back "Some of the more elite vampire clans ended up developing certain...abilities. These abilities are rare even within the clan; I am one of the few who was born with it."

Curious, she was able to forget her embarrassment and shyness over what they had just done as she looked up at him "What is it?"

He looked uncomfortable "Our bodies can produce and control a special type of fire. I say special because of the fact that its color is black and the temperature is much higher than the standard fire from say a lighter or a campfire. It is an ability we must keep in check because it can be extremely dangerous and volatile."

"Oh." What an interesting ability "So, then, your body temperature was rising because of that?"

The discomfort increased "Yes. It would appear that for a moment I lost focus." His eyes flickered from black to crimson "It will not happen again." It was a vow.

She then realized why he had seemed so upset and Hinata shook her head, framing his face in her hands "I believe in you." She said softly, her eyes becoming hooded. She was tired all of a sudden. "And you didn't hurt me so..." she yawned "if I can't be hard on myself, you can't either."

For a long moment silence was her answer and when she thought he wasn't going to answer at all he responded "Fair enough." He sounded amused again and she gave him a sleepy smile when his aura calmed and he looked at her warmly.

His lips were gentle against hers and she once again felt as if she was melting into him. Thoughts of what just transpired between them kept her cheeks dusted with red and she felt so many things. Happy, shy, sated, relieved, giddy...she treasured every sensation. She loved it.

"I love you." She told him and he responded by brushing his lips along her forehead. "I-I'm so happy that it's you...that I bonded with."

"Hn." His fingers traced her cheek and jaw and settled on her bottom lip before it was replaced with another kiss "I am also happy to be bonded to such a beautiful woman." When she tried to turn her head away out of embarrassment he stopped her, guiding her chin so that their gazes met "I am serious, Hinata. I know that it will take a very long time for you to believe me, because of the life you have lived, and so I will say it as many times as I need to for however long it takes until you do. You are beautiful and to me, right now as I look at you, there is not a woman in the world that I feel could ever come close to the beauty I see in you."

This time when she wept her tears were that of joy. He continued to hold her tenderly and she did her best to bury herself against him as much as possible. She loved this man, she _loved_ him.

"Thank you." She smiled through her tears "Thank you."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** Since this chapter was pretty much already finished, I went ahead and finished it and am uploading it now instead of later.

This chapter is 100% SasuNeji. There is a lemon and many things are revealed – some important to the plot. You do not have to read this chapter if you're honestly not a fan of yaoi as I will mention it later...you just won't know what's going on with that particular part of the plot until then.

Because Sasuke and Neji's history was more than twice as long as Itachi and Hinata's, this chapter was much longer because many things had to be addressed between them. Hope you like what you'll find out.

Lady Crack: You wanted smut, I gave you smut. Hope you enjoy.

xxxxx

**7**

xxxxx

He pulled up a chair and sat backwards, his arms resting on the back "Talk." The Uchiha scowled, red eyes narrowed. The other male was somewhat slumped on the ground, his breathing slightly strained due to his energy being drained. He was also shivering and refusing to look up at him. That was fine; it was to a point now where he honestly didn't care. This 'problem' was now bigger than them and his obligation first and foremost was to his clan.

Sasuke had often wondered off and on during the years as he learned more about the 'bond' issue if there were actual negative side effects. Could a bond be broken? Compromised? Could there be serious repercussions if the two rejected the bond for too long? Up until Hyuuga Hinata entered the house and bonded with his older brother things had been fine. The moment the two had bonded it had been as if something had snapped in him.

If he did not settle this _now_, someone would get hurt. He was no good to his clan like this.

The Hyuuga didn't reply and every minute that went by grated on the already borderline hostile Uchiha's nerves. Was it really going to be like this? Why? He wasn't an unintelligent person but he was at a complete _loss_ as to what could be so important to Neji that he would continue to reject something that was obviously meant to happen. At the very least he needed an answer to that or he really felt that he would lose it.

It had been like this when he had first truly interacted with the other but it was different, it hadn't been as hostile. He hadn't felt like ripping shit apart, he had just been confused and terrified of something he hadn't understood.

"Fine." If he was truly going to take it to the grave with him then... "I'll ask Itachi to take the clan back."

Oh, that got his attention? At least something did. "What?" he frowned and he truly looked like he was struggling to breathe properly. His head dropped "Don't do that. I –" he gasped again and the Uchiha began to wonder if perhaps he had made the spell too powerful. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to lower the intensity, just getting and understanding the markings had been hell on its own. "S-Sasuke...you have to..." his arm weakly rose and pointed to a large symbol on the far right wall "If you don't...can't..."

Understanding, he quickly went over and wiped his hand over the marking, ending its effectiveness. The reaction was immediate, Neji let out a breath and he sat up a little straighter. He still looked very weak and pale but when he sat back down the Hyuuga had enough energy to glare at him so that was good enough. He was mildly surprised; he could have lied to him and freed himself, why didn't he?

"You're a bastard." With a sigh he sat up completely and it seemed that he no longer had problems breathing. The shivering had also stopped "I've been a loyal and faithful member of the clan for years, your attempts at a thank you are atrocious."

"If you can crack jokes," for some stupid reason he found himself smirking at the long haired idiot "You can answer my questions. And yeah, you've been a great advisor, but you're shitty at everything else."

"You're not much better."

"True. But whose fault is that?"

He looked away and Sasuke fought the urge to sigh in irritation "I'm not kidding about giving the clan back to Itachi."

"Don't do that." He shook his head "You have led the clan well. Despite...everything, I have enjoyed working under you."

"Then give me some _options_," he couldn't even believe he was resorting to practically pleading. Had this been a few centuries ago...well it was just better that he was older and wiser. "Because right now it's either I send Itachi and your cousin away –" Neji's eyes widened at this "Or I give Itachi the clan and leave. Last night or whatever those two bonded. Today I woke up and practically lit the estate _on fire_." He shook his head "I'm three hundred and seventy two years old and I feel like a fucking fifty year old fledging because for some reason _you_ don't want to complete this _stupid_ bond. It's. _Retarded_." He said the last two words slowly, as if speaking to a small child. "I don't even know why I'm asking this because I already know the answer, but is it because we're both guys?"

Neji shook his head slowly. "No. We were raised to accept all types of bonds, although it was not common for two of the same gender. It wasn't _rare_, just uncommon."

There had been something clipped about his tone at the beginning of his statement so Sasuke put that in the back of his mind for now. "I figured as much." He decided to test Itachi's theory "Is it because you're afraid of losing your identity?"

"What?" his brows furrowed in confusion "What are you...ah." he shook his head. When he spoke his gaze seemed far away and he smiled slightly "I think I remember Itachi-san saying something about it...I never experienced it because I understood what was happening...in theory anyway."

So then what _was it_? It wasn't because they were both guys, it wasn't an identity issue...he was missing something and Neji was making this difficult. This was so incredibly frustrating "Look you..."

The Hyuuga scowled and turned his gaze away "If you truly need a reason...I did not wish to come between you and your other...habits."

Sasuke just stared at him for a while "Neji, what the fuck are you talking about." He honestly had no clue and his patience was wearing thin. "_What_ other habits?"

The Hyuuga's gaze hardened "Please do not pretend that with your record you remained celibate this entire time. You made it very apparent that you had no qualms with continuing that lifestyle even after..." he cut himself off but he understood what Neji was implying.

Anger began to rise. This bastard... "Says the one who's had absolutely no problems with manipulating me for all these years. Do you honestly think I didn't know what you were doing half the time? How stupid do you think I am?" he stood up from the chair "From the _beginning_ you tried to manipulate me because I was the clan head." White eyes widened and he smirked "Didn't think I'd figure out that the sole reason you came to the Uchiha as an ambassador was because they _knew_ about the bond between us? The Hyuuga didn't trust us because of Madara, so they sent you because they knew you had reacted with me when I first approached you guys. They wanted some bit of control over the Uchiha and you –"

"Enough!" he jumped to his feet but turned away from Sasuke so the other couldn't see his expression "I don't need a recap of my atrocities, I _know_ what I did!" he was actually shouting, something he had never seen Neji do until now. The other male turned to face him and he was taken aback by the amount of rage and loathing that was being displayed...but not at him. "I went against everything the Hyuuga stood for and believed in and for what? Madara wiped us out anyway!"

Sasuke froze as it finally clicked.

"_I went against everything the Hyuuga stood for and believed in..."_

Shit. Now he knew the reason, and it _was_ deep. It was so much so that there was a serious possibility that it would never get worked out, not with what he knew about the Hyuuga in front of him. "Neji..."

"We are taught from the time we can understand words that bonds are sacred," he began to pace the room. The floodgates were open now and so the Uchiha decided to remain silent "the aura is nothing more than the visual manifestation of a person's spirit and for us, there is nothing in the universe that is more important, or precious, than the spirit. We're taught that the gods gave us these powers as some sort of divine blessing. It meant that we could truly find our other half and become a complete being – we're taught that brings us closer to the gods. No other race can do this.

"Since there is nothing more important than the spirit, finding your spiritual match – something that is rare, I might add – is one of the greatest blessings. It's like the gods coming down personally and being like, 'Here you go.' In short, you don't _fuck_ _with it_. Why would you? You're two halves of the same whole; it'd be like cutting off your own arm or leg."

The Uchiha walked over to the chair and sat down, propping his elbows on his thighs and resting his chin on his hands. The Hyuuga had been highly religious individuals and he knew Neji was no exception; in fact, he had always struck Sasuke as being more traditional than most. A lot of it had to do with him being a prodigy; he was a genius in all of the arts because he had studied and trained, it hadn't all been natural skill.

With the Hyuuga gone, Neji had been even more adamant about keeping the traditions alive because in a way, it was all he had left. The last of his kind and because of Madara, he had to keep who he was a secret.

"At the time..." he sighed, his pacing stopped but he did not look at Sasuke "it hadn't mattered to me because I hadn't truly understood the significance. I knew it in theory but I had never seen it. You were just some person I had met very briefly, in passing, and the elders had noticed it immediately. Even though I knew it was immoral and _wrong_ I was completely fine with it because my clan was more important than some person I didn't even know.

"So I threw away my values and teachings and committed probably the most shameful and dishonorable act that I can think of for my people. I willingly and knowingly attempted to use and manipulate my spiritual half. It's like spitting in the gods' faces; you don't do that and then turn around and reclaim what you shunned because you feel guilty – it's blasphemy."

He allowed a few moments to pass before deciding to speak "Neji...you didn't go through with it. If you _had_, we wouldn't be having this conversation, I would have killed you. Like you said, you've been a loyal member of the clan for well over twenty years." he shrugged "Trying to atone?"

The Hyuuga did look at him then, smiling sadly "That was...part of it." He looked away "There were other reasons. It doesn't matter that I didn't go through with it; the only reason I didn't was because I _couldn't_. Once I actually met you and was around you betraying you was impossible." White met black "It's a matter of honor, Sasuke. I shamelessly threw it away and continued to when I, admittedly, manipulated you over the years as your advisor. Honor was what had defined me, I threw it away and in the end...it was all for nothing."

With a sigh, Sasuke sat up straight in the chair. "Whatever, half of the stuff you 'manipulated' me into doing were things that needed to be done or benefitted the clan as a whole and I had been being stubborn. That's what advisors are supposed to do when the leader doesn't listen to reason." He leaned back in the chair "And for your information, you were the last person I slept with."

Obviously, Neji did not believe him, for he scowled "I thought we were supposed to be being honest here."

"Tch." He returned the scowl "Idiot, even I know that it doesn't work that way. I pretended because I was hoping to make you jealous. Just like how you couldn't do what your elders wanted, I couldn't sleep around." He shrugged "I didn't want to."

Neji's body tensed and he looked away "Well, it worked."

"No it didn't, otherwise we'd be together."

The silence that settled wasn't tense, in fact, when Neji's shoulders started shaking he found himself hard pressed not to start laughing either.

The Hyuuga burst out laughing "We're so..."

Sasuke smirked "Fucked up. Yeah, I know."

Crossing his arms over his stomach, Neji's laughter turned into chuckles "I was going to say sad and pathetic but that works." He sighed and sobered up "I know it needs to end; it _has_ been extremely difficult to deal with this with your brother and my cousin growing closer and then finally bonding. I've been detaching myself from my surroundings to deal with it. I also...don't wish to do this anymore. I'm at my limit."

Just because he knew it was coming "But...?"

He was given a wry grin "But just because I know that, doesn't erase the fact that I –" he started and tried to take a step back but the Uchiha had used his speed and already had an arm around Neji's waist, his other hand moving through chocolate brown tresses.

"You, Itachi, and your damn honor." His grip tightened "When will you idiots learn that honor isn't everything? My brother almost didn't bond with Hinata because of that and you avoided me for twenty six years."

The intention, when he finally kissed him, had been to do so briefly but apparently getting everything out had made the Hyuuga let go. A hand fisted in his short hair while the other arm wrapped around him. He responded and the two practically slammed into each other, low moans coming from both of them as their kiss deepened. Tongues kneaded and fought for dominance, hands were everywhere. Like he had that night they had first shared, Sasuke felt content; as if something important had fallen into place.

They gasped as they parted and his hands framed the Hyuuga's face. Still panting, he moved closer "There are more important things than honor." His voice was a low, heated rumble. Their lips crashed once more and he knew that this was it; the running was done. "Accept it, Neji." He said between their heated kisses. Sasuke knew the moment he did because the gaping hole that had emerged ever since he had met the Hyuuga had finally filled; he finally felt like a whole person again.

Having Neji accept the bond wasn't the cure all; it would take time to truly convince him that he made the right decision. He had only accepted because in reality, there had been no choice. Their bond would have destroyed them; driven them to insanity. It would have happened regardless of his brother finding Neji's cousin, their bonding – for reasons unknown – had merely sped up the process.

But the bond was made and it could not be broken. He'd deal with the other bullshit later; right now, Neji was _his_.

He was quite surprised when he was backed into the far wall but neither broke the kiss. Need hit him hard, he'd gone a long time without, if he somehow managed not to actually rape the Hyuuga he'd be surprised. "You're...moving pretty well now." He murmured. "Another manipulation tactic?" perhaps he had tricked him but then if he had, why hadn't he taken advantage?

_Maybe he wanted me to convince him._

"No." Neji breathed and the Uchiha's breath caught in his throat at the look of raw hunger and desire behind normally cool white eyes. The grip he had on his hair was almost painful when he was pulled in for another intense kiss "Never again. We're raised to treat the ones we're bonded with as if they are precious. They are to be revered and loved, as one would love themselves." As he spoke his hands had slid underneath the fabric of Sasuke's long sleeved shirt. Neji's hands felt very cool to his heating skin "I am still unable to use my abilities and I cannot manipulate your aura; I did not deceive you."

"Huh." He smirked, closing his eyes briefly "So does that mean you're going to be worshipping the ground I walk on now?" he grunted when nails raked down his chest. "Is that a no?"

"You're ego is inflated enough as it is." When Neji's expression turned downcast he didn't hesitate to pull the other male into another kiss. The Hyuuga's arms wrapped around his neck and he tilted his head for a better angle. Onyx eyes opened slightly, blinked, then widened as he pushed Neji back. This obviously confused him "Sasuke...?" he paused as he actually _looked_ at him. "...This..."

"So...you can see it too?" he asked blandly, taking in the soft glow that was now surrounding the other male. There were many colors flowing, like a ribbon, some standing out more than others.

Neji's smile was bitter sweet "Yes...no turning back now." He sighed at the look he was given "A part of me is always going to feel like this is wrong because of my actions, the other half knows that this had to happen or we might have eventually gone mad."

Obviously, living for three centuries made one soft, for the Hyuuga had a way of saying things that affected him more than he would like. He absolutely refused to admit this, however. Neji had his honor, he had his pride.

Since years had gone by since Neji had last been able to see his aura, he was a little surprised when he was given a sad, understanding smile "You know; I knew the moment your brother was in love with Hinata-sama. He approached me once, confused about his bond with her and what it all meant. I was unable to give him the answers, but while she could not see his aura, I was able to see the growing tint of pink within. At that moment...I think I envied him a bit."

At first he didn't get it – why was he saying that randomly all of a sudden? – then he looked at Neji's aura again and understood the underlying message. The Hyuuga also had his pride and he could also see Sasuke's aura. So he didn't respond; there wasn't a need. They could now clearly see the feelings they had been hiding and denying for well over two decades.

"...We really are idiots." Sasuke looked up at the ceiling.

"Yes. Perhaps that is why the gods chose us." Once again Sasuke didn't respond, this time because he really wasn't a religious person and didn't believe in gods. He believed in higher beings that _called_ themselves gods, but actual gods? Not really. The two Uchiha brothers had felt that way for quite some time.

Hands slid from his chest and down and he tried to force himself to focus. For someone like him, it was vitally important "Sasuke," a brow rose in response and he idly watched as a mixture of green and dark grey flare a bit "what you said earlier, you truly were only trying to make me jealous?"

_It...really bothered him that he thought I was still sleeping around._ Well, he couldn't really say much; he had been insanely jealous of the sudden affection and love the Hyuuga had begun to show his cousin and yet had refused to give him the time of day. If he felt that way over something that simple, he could only imagine how Neji must have felt. He had to hand it to him, he had hidden it well.

"Yeah." He finally answered "I gave up after that first year; I had figured it a waste of time because at the time it seemed like you hadn't cared. Eventually, I'd go out but just around the city, I wouldn't do anything."

His only response was to nod so he didn't press it. Feeling that enough words had been exchanged for the moment – and also he was worried Neji would 'come to his senses' and try to bolt again – he pulled the other close again, his lips silencing any verbal protest. This seemed to be fine with the other, for he felt deceptively gentle fingers begin to unbutton his shirt.

His mind went back to the first and only night they had shared and how he had felt when he had finally given in to the bond. His reputation as a playboy hadn't been unwarranted; he had slept with _many_ women in the three centuries that he had been alive. It had been the first time that he had been with another man but it had also the first time he had ever slept with someone and hadn't felt empty or uncaring afterwards.

He had been _enraged_ when Neji had said what he had afterwards. He had been so angry that he had actually ignored the Hyuuga for a long while, as long as it had taken for him to recover his damaged pride. Now here he was, in the exact same position he had been in over twenty years ago.

_What if he does it again?_

He had no idea. More than likely, it would involve violence. Sasuke tried hard to keep a lid on his temper, he absolutely had to, but he still _had_ a temper and he had his limits. A part of him wanted to actually stop and probably would have years ago. Too many years had passed at this point and their bond was still heavily strained. If the Hyuuga valued his health, he would try to work things out instead of rejecting their bond.

With a growl, he gripped the Hyuuga's shirt and shifted so that he was pinning the other against the wall. Extending one of his nails to a sharp point he slid it under the buttons of Neji's shirt. The other male actually stiffened and pushed Sasuke back, white eyes and aura reflecting his anger.

"What?" What the hell was his problem _now_?

He really did look murderous "That...do you know how much that shirt cost?"

Sasuke almost throttled him "So what? I'll give you a damn pay raise, buy another one." Really, what the hell? Trust a Hyuuga to value clothing over making out and sex.

"It was my favorite shirt, Sasuke."

"Hyuuga, bitch at me _later_." He growled, gripped the destroyed shirt and proceeded to drag the long haired man out the room to the room across from it. The other room had a bed but that wasn't why he had wanted to leave. Kicking the door to the new room closed behind him, he turned and slammed Neji against it, lips brushing the man's neck.

His tongue trailed up sensitive flesh. _Just a taste_... came the thought and incisors lengthened as he remembered how the other had tasted that night. It was a crime and he had known it at the time but at the time he had been unable to help himself. His fangs trailed and Neji shuddered, hands sliding up his lover's chest.

There was hesitation "What are you doing?" he had probably meant for it to sound chastising but instead it came out heated and needy. His body became almost painfully hard in response.

"I allowed Itachi and Hinata to take from only each other..." his own voice sounded husky "and it's been a long time since I last tasted you."

"What?" the question sounded fuzzy, but having someone slide a very warm hand into another's pants tended to do that. He planted a kiss along pale skin as his hand continued to pump Neji's quickly hardening erection "Y-you took...?"

"Yeah. Although if I think about it, you probably don't remember since I did it right when we had both –"

"I do not remember." He cut in quickly and the Uchiha almost rolled his eyes at the other man's embarrassment.

"That's alright, I'll remind you."

A sharp cry filled the room and dull nails dug into his back. It was replaced with a low moan and heavy breathing as Sasuke greedily drank, humming softly. Neji shuddered again and a hand delved into his hair, pressing him closer. He heard his name being whispered.

And then pure pleasure ripped up his spine to pool down to his groin and he pulled back, gasping. He shivered just as a smirk emerged. _That_ was why he had wanted to get the Hyuuga out of the room, he wanted the other male to have his powers back.

As long as he did _that_, Neji could manipulate his aura all damn day. It felt even more incredible two decades later.

Realizing that his attempt had worked, a slow and sensual smile spread on the other man's features. "I am not the only one who needed a reminder, it seems."

Their lips crashed and Sasuke all but ripped the rest of the shirt off of Neji as his lips trailed hot kisses along the other side of his neck. Fingers gently traced along his back and arms, each touch sending shivers down his body and beyond. To a level that he didn't even know; could only feel.

"Beautiful." It was a whisper of reverence "It truly is different, the aura of a complete soul." He made a thoughtful noise "So then, if I do this..."

Both men's moans filled the room and the temperature in the room increased drastically. Sasuke had absolutely no idea what just happened to him; it had felt as if someone had reached deep inside and stroked the most sensitive and pleasurable spot that existed for him. It was even more intense than the other touches he had remembered. He couldn't help it, he had to ask.

"It's an ability I discovered one day," a low, appreciative noise escaped as Sasuke's lips slid from his neck to take in a flat nipple; nibbling and licking lightly "I...c-can..." his pants dropped and the Uchiha gripped his cock again. His back arched in response "delve i-into an aura. My ability to...manipulate auras has always b-been..." he gasped and tilted his head back when very hot hands slid up his sides as his lover's lips continued downward "particularly strong...but I can...take it to another level. I can delve past the surface and fully control a person's...spirit...and I-I...ah, Sasuke..." white eyes closed as a hot, wet mouth closed over him. His hands moved into raven colored hair, gripping tightly as pleasure washed over him. "Gods yes...just like that..." any further explanation was lost as the hands on his stomach slid down to his thighs and back up to his ass, hands gripping, nails digging into flesh.

The other man hummed and a rather loud groan left the Hyuuga "Missed this...missed _you_." He almost said the words then but refrained. Those were words he didn't deserve to say to the Uchiha, now or ever.

Both made 'mmm' noises as lips connected and tongues mingled. It wasn't the fight for dominance like earlier, it felt different. _They_ felt different. Was it because they were 'whole' now? When the Uchiha's heated hand cupped his cheek and slid into his hair something powerful gripped his chest at the gentle action. They kissed as if they had all the time in the world, Sasuke's other arm wrapping around Neji's waist while he wrapped arms around the other's neck. It felt so good; not being at odds, being gentle instead of hostile. Their bodies pressed together, one arm remained around the Uchiha's neck and the other slid up his powerful back smiling against the other's mouth when his body shivered.

He had never told Sasuke about his particular ability, mostly because he had used it for what he had felt to be 'embarrassing' purposes. He could manipulate auras, yes, but the depth to which he could do so was something only he had been able to accomplish. It was what had made the others consider him to be a genius. Even the gentle touches that gave pleasure was something that only he seemed to be able to do and he was glad that he had never truly used it to manipulate Sasuke as the elders had wanted. He truly never would have forgiven himself. Ever.

Perhaps with time he could redeem himself in the goddess' eyes, he had been considered 'especially blessed' by Amaterasu for a reason, right? The only other person that had been given such a title had been his great grandfather; he was the only other person recorded to have shared Neji's ability.

But he was gone.

Everyone was gone. Except for her. Hinata.

And even though he didn't deserve him, he had Sasuke. Gods forgive him, but he refused to deny the bond any longer. If they truly didn't want him to keep it, they'd take it away, and he was so _tired_ of fighting.

They parted and because he had kept his eyes closed he didn't realize what the Uchiha was going to do until he was instructed to wrap his legs around him. Eyes snapped open when a saliva coated finger slowly slid inside his tight entrance. He squirmed uncomfortably at the unfamiliar sensation since he had gone without for so long. Sasuke grunted and shifted them so that he had a better grip, trying to keep the Hyuuga distracted with kisses. It worked somewhat, every time their lips connected there was this strange heat that moved between them. When their tongues swirled and danced it felt as if his entire body was on fire...or perhaps it was just Sasuke's body heat.

The second finger had him grunting but he didn't outwardly show any discomfort. "Sorry." The Uchiha still apologized but Neji didn't respond; couldn't really. The room steadily became warmer, their hair began to mat to their foreheads as sweat covered them. Fingers dug into skin when the third finger was inserted and hips rocked, rubbing their now sweat slicked members together.

It was too much. The heat, the man who he had desired immensely for decades touching and kissing him, all of it was just surreal.

Because it had been so long, even with him properly stretched it was an incredibly tight fit and the Hyuuga had to grit his teeth to keep from revealing his pain and discomfort. Unfortunately, with them being in contact Sasuke could somewhat sense what Neji was feeling even if he didn't understand the colors of his aura.

"This might hurt." Came the husky rumble right as teeth sank into his neck once again, pain blossoming as his lover jerked his hips, thrusting in deep. The pleasure of being bitten dulled the pain somewhat; it was when he stopped drinking and started moving that Sasuke's actual physical body became so hot he was actually starting to burn him.

He stopped immediately, crimson eyes widening in shock at the Hyuuga's unusually loud cry of pain. "Neji!" had he hurt him more than intended? It would have hurt regardless because it had been so long but...

"Sasuke...Sasuke your skin...it burns."

A very vulgar curse escaped the Uchiha's lips as he forced his body to calm down. Once achieved, he began to move backwards, gasping as he placed Neji on the bed, thusly sliding out of him. It had felt incredible and for a moment he had lost control. His hands began to move over his lover's skin as he sat on the bed, brows narrowed in worry. Gods, all these years and he still couldn't fully control his powers?

It didn't seem as if he was terribly burned but he locked gazes with the other man anyway "I'm..." apologizing wasn't something he sincerely did often – sarcastically, all the time – so instead he leaned in and showed him with actions what he couldn't say. He moved to pull away and rise but the Hyuuga sat up, grabbing his arm; frowning.

"Where are you going?"

"We should stop." Which he _really_ didn't do but if he fully lost control he'd kill the Hyuuga and that...was unacceptable "Later when I –" It was the look on Neji's face which made him pause. Had he been in a better mood he would have found it amusing.

"Absolutely not." He snapped "If I couldn't back out after two decades of waiting you sure as hell aren't going to back out on me now." He inclined his head towards the headboard "Go sit against that." He was dead serious and the Uchiha couldn't help but smirk.

"You're demanding all of a sudden." He did as told, however, because Neji did look ready to actually hurt him and he knew the Hyuuga was not above such things. He swallowed thickly as the slimmer male crawled up to him, brown hair everywhere. It gave him a truly exotic, almost feminine appearance; especially with those white eye that seemed to glow in the darkness. Hands slid up his stomach and chest as he was straddled. His hands slid up Neji's hips and sides, lifting him. When tight heat enclosed over him again it was a bit easier to control himself as he was no longer leading.

Hands flew to slender hips as the other male rode him, his gasps and noises louder than he could remember them being. Sitting up, he wrapped his arms around him, hands sliding up his lover's powerful back. Neji was slender for the most part, but he wasn't 'thin'. Hands slid from his shoulders and down as a curtain of chocolate brown hair covered them; lips locking in a fierce kiss. He moaned loudly in the other's mouth when hips rolled, sending indescribable pleasure through him.

It had been too long. Never again.

"Shit...Neji..." his head tipped back as he quickly felt himself reaching his limit. Words began to climb up his throat but he kept his mouth shut. Neji knew and that was enough. He knew the Hyuuga would never say the words aloud, so he wouldn't either.

"Sasuke." The voice sounded strained.

Hooded red eyes lifted to gaze into warm mercury. Once again he just _knew_, no words were needed. Raising his hand he pulled Neji down and tilted his head, lips brushing along the throbbing pulse. He licked his lips.

Right when he reached his limit he bit his lover again and at the same time Neji trailed a hand up his back. It was so unexpected that it took everything in him not to dig his lengthening nails into the Hyuuga's skin as the pleasure that ripped through him was more intense than he had ever felt in his life. More than physical and more than the spiritual; it just...was. He stopped drinking in fear of hurting him as he completely filled his lover, his name a soft caress from his lips.

Both were breathing hard as they came down from their euphoria but neither moved; content with just being in each other's arms after years of avoidance. And it did, it felt so damn right. His arms tightened and he buried his face in the Hyuuga's neck. He wouldn't, _couldn't_ give him up now. Walking away again would break him, he knew that.

Fingers moved through his hair soothingly "Sasuke." He didn't wait for a response "The color you see...no matter what has happened it has been like this...and no matter what _will_ happen, this emotion will not change."

Onyx eyes closed, bright pink burned briefly at the back of his eyelids before going dark "Hn." He said nothing and did nothing besides hold him. They remained in each other's arms the rest of the night and well into morning. Both definitely agreed on one thing:

It was good to feel whole again.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** Apologies, I had a bit of a block concerning a scene and it delayed me in finishing the rest of this chapter.

I am almost positive(of course, you've seen me make this promise before, lol) that if not the next chapter (and I'm not sure why it wouldn't be) then the chapter after that will be the end.

I've been asked by someone if I have other stories up that aren't on FF. The answer to this: Absolutely. I have quite a few stories that aren't on FF because they're a bit too racy. Unfortunately, I hate AdultFanfiction with a vitriolic passion of epic proportions and I doubt I'll ever get to putting them there. Did I mention that I _really_ hate that site? Because I do.

You can find everything on my LJ(link in my profile).

Anyone know of a good website to post my more adult fics that isn't Adultfanfiction?

xxxxx

**8**

xxxxx

"_I'm all finished, Madara-sama." A short haired brunette stood up in the cold stone room, carefully backing away from the markings she had just completed on the floor. Pink stained her cheeks as she neared her master, shyly ducking her head when the tall man's hand rested on top. He smiled thinly at her._

"_Thank you, Naoko." His hand slid down to cup her cheek "I never would have been able to do this without you." His voice was kind, gentle even "And you drew the image exactly as it was shown?"_

_She leaned into his hand. "Of course, Madara-sama. It's perfect, I made sure of it because..." her blush deepened "I want to be the first thing you see."_

_The thin smile widened a fraction "You will." Turning to her, he pulled the woman into his arms and she sighed._

_Which quickly turned into a gurgle._

"_I'm sorry; it completely slipped my mind to mention the part about needing a sacrifice." Madara said, the thin smile shifting to a grin. Her black eyes flashed crimson as she stared up at him in shock. He wasn't looking down at her, of course; his empty gaze was on the wall behind her. He jerked his arm and blood spilled from her mouth "But if it makes you feel any better, you really will be the first thing I see...your corpse anyway."_

_Wrenching the dagger from her chest he coolly counted the steps he needed to take to position himself in the middle of the room. Raising an arm, he sliced his wrist open, dark chanting filling the quiet room. Finally, after so many years of walking in darkness he'd finally be able to see the light. With his sight his plans to take over the vampire world and turn the walking meat sacks known as humans into the slaves that they should be would become a reality. Most importantly, he would be able to see his little brother._

_Izuna. They would do it together; he'd follow him to the ends of the earth – always had. _

_He knew something had gone wrong the moment the warm glow that was supposed to emerge was instead cold and dark. No...had he done something wrong? He knew Naoko hadn't betrayed him and she wasn't incompetent, so what was going on?_

_The stench of carrion filled the room and assaulted his extremely sharp senses. The sound of raspy laughter was everywhere. No. No, no, no! This was all wrong! What happened?_

_Cackling. "Hello, little Uchiha." The voice was female and seemed to carry with it the screams and pleas of hundreds of souls. He could feel hands grabbing at him and he tried to jerk back and away, only to completely freeze when his feet hit something squishy instead of stone._

_No...this wasn't right, this wasn't how it was supposed to be. "You're not Amaterasu!"_

"_What is precious to you?" there was the sound of rustling fabric and something cold and clammy touched his face "That thing; she is no sacrifice. Tell me little Uchiha, what is it that you cherish the most?"_

_This cold and dark feeling, the smell of carrion, the raspy voice and voices of the dead...no...no it couldn't be...He had wanted Amaterasu. _

_He had tried to summon the goddess. He got _a_ goddess, but she was the last one he would have wanted to respond._

_Why? Had he done something wrong? Had he researched the wrong things? No, that wasn't possible; he had gone through everything thoroughly..._

_Her disgusting laughter echoed off the walls that sounded as if they were moaning. The Uchiha shuddered._

"_You weren't what I wanted." He said it low at first before his voice rose "Go back to the underworld; you weren't the one I wanted!"_

_The goddess let out a high pitched screech that dropped him to his knees as he covered his ears to no avail._

"_Not wanted?" she was definitely enraged "Not needed, not wanted, you summoned me! You want eyes and I demand my sacrifice!" Her voice was low as she began to chuckle darkly "You _will _have your eyes, little Uchiha."_

_Pain unlike he had ever felt before lanced through his skull and he screamed as he felt dark, malicious power fill him. Thousands of voices whispered in his head until he thought he'd go mad. He writhed and squirmed on the ground as he clutched at his head, wanting the pain to stop._

_Then he knew nothing._

_Slowly, Uchiha Madara stood, eyes opening to reveal a glow down to the whites with red. He smiled._

"_I know what's precious to you." The goddess said in a sing song voice as she moved in the Uchiha's body, walking up the stairs "And I'm going to take it."_

White filled Hinata's vision as the dark scene abruptly faded, leaving her in a blank void. She hugged herself, trying to shake the disturbing images from her mind. Having watched it from a third party perspective she had been able to see what Madara hadn't in that room...and it would haunt her for some time to come.

"Forgive me, but it was unavoidable."

The voice was male and familiar so when she turned and faced Izuna she wasn't terribly surprised. Thankfully, his eyes were in their sockets. He smiled.

"I can finally reach you now." He looked relieved "You bonded with him then."

"What?" how did he know about that?

He shook his head "I have but little time and this is important. That night was when it all began, the night my brother tried to summon Amaterasu. He had always been ambitious but after that night...he truly did lose his mind."

Hinata nodded, remembering the vision "He failed."

"No. He didn't." the smile quickly disappeared "The spell had been done perfectly; it was just that the goddess who answered the call was the one his soul called out to the most. It is nearly impossible for one to truly commit the act my brother did but his desires and ambitions were great and while they did not appeal to Amaterasu, they _did_ appeal to someone else. Were you able to discover who?"

Another shiver went through her at the sight of the haggard old woman; her insides rotting out with maggots and other disgusting creatures. She had been so full of hatred and bitterness, especially when he had claimed he hadn't wanted her...

Gasping, her hands flew to her mouth in realization and Izuna nodded.

"Izanami. The sister and wife of Izanagi who created Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo when he cleansed himself after leaving the underworld...and subsequently his dead wife that he had fled from upon seeing what had happened to her there. She had been enraged by his rejection of her appearance and had chased him in a desire to kill. The same goddess that had promised to kill a thousand humans every day; to which her husband had promised to have a thousand and five hundred born in their stead."

She understood now why Izanami had wanted what was most precious to Madara. Hinata also realized why Madara had gotten her instead of Amaterasu. His soul had already been dark; there was no way he ever would have been able to reach the sun goddess.

"Why me?" she blurted out. She didn't want this. There had to be someone strong enough to take someone like him on because she wasn't it.

"I tried to reach the other, but I couldn't...I still cannot even though he bonded." Izuna seemed disturbed by this, Hinata was just confused. "My brother is coming, keep him at your side. Tell him what I cannot."

"What?" she didn't understand "Tell who?" Itachi? Was that what he meant by keeping him at her side?

But he was beginning to fade away. She tried to reach out to him but found herself unable to move. What was this?

"Guide him." Were his last words.

xxxxx

A disgusted noise came from Neji as he awakened to the disgusting smell of cigarette smoke. Rolling over, he tried to pull the sheets over his head and when he reached over he found the other side of the bed empty. This caused him to snap out of his groggy state and he sat up on the massive bed in Sasuke's massive bedroom.

Suppressing a yawn, the Hyuuga slid out of the bed, taking the top layer of the sheets to cover the lower half of his body. His sharp gaze caught the Uchiha sitting on the windowsill, one leg propped up and a cigarette between his fingers. His gaze was outside the open window and he took another long drag before his dark eyes slid over to the other male.

"I was not aware you indulged in this particular...habit." One would think as a vampire with sensitive senses they'd avoid something so disgusting, but they tended to do things that defied the laws of science and common sense in any case.

"Only once a year." He admitted and the Hyuuga pressed forward until he was standing beside the Uchiha "My mother was killed by one of Madara's guys this night."

It was amazing how he had known Sasuke for almost thirty years and yet knew nothing about him "I...am sorry. I didn't realize."

"I never told you." He looked back out the window and there was somewhat awkward silence. Neji decided to try and lighten the mood up slightly although it really wasn't his forte.

"One would think that your mother would not have approved of such a habit." He said lightly, earning him a snort.

"My mother was a chain smoker." He turned and smirked at his lover's surprised expression before looking back outside "When my dad died my mom became...reckless. Daring even. She got into all sorts of crazy things and since Itachi was too much of a stiff to want to do them, I always tagged along with her. I had always been closer to mom anyway." The roll of his shoulders "We partied, bullshitted; tried a _lot_ of things we probably shouldn't have and I always made sure I was with her.

"Everyone knew she did it because it was her way of coping, and maybe she thought one day she'd get knocked off and join my dad, I have no idea. Anyway, around the eighteen hundreds she got into smoking and so I got into smoking. She had always been really into fashion so we'd travel a lot; posing as the rich, party hopping and doing whatever else we wanted. I was running the clan but I somehow always managed to make time for her."

"I see." Neji's own mother had been killed but he had never been very close to her. As a prodigy and genius; most of his life had been spent learning everything he could learn about the Hyuuga secrets. When she had died he had been sad but probably not as devastated as Sasuke had been with his mother. He didn't know what to say so he remained silent.

Sasuke continued anyway "When she was killed I stopped doing everything she and I had done together. Pissed Kiba off for a while but I just hadn't felt like it at the time. Then one year on this day I found myself lighting up and I smoked the entire day. Next day the urge was gone. So now every year on this day I smoke." He flicked the butt out the window and pulled out his pack, sliding out another one "Sorry if it bothers you."

The Hyuuga snorted, mostly because Sasuke really wasn't sorry; he did whatever he felt like doing – other people's feelings be damned. "It is disgusting but not enough for me to walk away." When he moved closer and leaned against the other male the Uchiha smiled. When he raised his hand as if to shield a flame from the wind he noticed the small bit of black fire that had flickered and then he was puffing once more. He did not resist when Sasuke wrapped his arm around his waist.

"Sasuke, why did you never tell me about this ability of yours?" because really, finding out decades later that one's boyfriend was his own personal lighter was...well shocking." He smiled sadly "Did you not trust me?"

"Nope." The admission stung but Neji remained silent because he really had no right to say anything and he knew it. "I trusted you as far as you trusted me and you told me jack shit about the Hyuuga. Everything I learned I either got when I had been interacting with you guys or through my own research." He took a drag from his cigarette and Neji turned to face the far wall.

"Well, I certainly understand then, considering." He sighed "But it wasn't because I didn't trust you that I remained silent about my people and our..." he cut himself off when Sasuke's arm around him tightened. When he looked down the Uchiha's expression was unreadable but his aura told him what he needed to know. Neji put an arm around his shoulders "You may ask me whatever you wish, if you'd like."

This got him a look and Sasuke's brow rose "Stop trying so hard." He looked back out the window and the Hyuuga fought the urge to strangle him or do something equally violent.

"_You_ have been complaining for years about my attitude and _now_ you're telling me not to try?"

"No, I said stop trying _so hard_. The last two words there were important – changes the entire dynamic and meaning of the statement."

_Smartass._ "You make it very difficult not to feel homicidal in your presence." The Uchiha snorted again and this time the silence that fell upon them was comfortable.

When Sasuke spoke again, however, the words floored him "So, about these prophetic dreams your cousin's been having..."

"What?" he actually tried to take a step back but the grip on him was firm "Hinata-sama has...what are you talking about?"

Flicking the used cigarette out the window he gave Neji his full attention "Your cousin's been having these crazy dreams about Madara – you didn't know about it? Itachi told me."

"No..." once again he felt a little hurt. He had thought that the two of them had grown somewhat close, Neji had truly wanted that. "I suppose she doesn't trust me still. It makes sense, we are still practically strangers."

The raven haired man looked thoughtful "No, I think maybe she just didn't want you to worry about her. She comes off as the self-sacrificing type."

Well, it made him feel a tad bit better, but not by much. Even though he and Sasuke were 'close' now their relationship was still strained and awkward due to the amount of years that had passed between them. Hinata had somewhat helped fill the gap that had been his loneliness and for some stupid reason he felt alone all of a sudden. "Please tell me these dreams she's been having."

"Well, the biggest one that struck me was the one about Madara and the grand master of the Hyuuga."

White eyes widened at this "She had a dream about that night?" no one knew what had happened, only that the man had been found dead and everyone had known the Uchiha had been behind it. "What did she see?"

"Well, apparently the guy placed a binding spell on Madara...I guess that explains why he's always wearing a mask. He cursed him."

"A binding spell?" he looked curious "Interesting...it explains much, I suppose. But this means we have his weakness, correct? What was she able to discover about the curse itself?"

He shook his head "Nothing too much; just that it's an individual of his direct lineage and they have to have some sort of ability or something he had that apparently no one else..." he cut himself off as Neji's eyes had widened just a bit before he turned his back to him.

"I see." His voice sounded flat but the amount of fluctuating colors shifting through his aura told the Uchiha that something was seriously wrong. He didn't really understand the colors but two flashed rather brightly and he was sure that red meant anger, right?

"Neji..." the Hyuuga knew something "What do you know?" when all he did was drop the cloth covering him and reached to grab his clothes, Sasuke was up and on his feet, closing the distance. He couldn't see his face but it was obvious he was tense and upset. "Neji." He said it more forcefully but was ignored again. Highly irritated, he used his speed to stop him as he tried to leave clothed only in his pants. His hand shot out, gripping the other man's arm. "Neji! What the hell?"

Onyx eyes blinked at the calm and cold rage within the Hyuuga's eyes. The veins around them were increasing and the aura flared.

"Madara's after the wrong Hyuuga." Was what he said and the Uchiha could only blink in slight confusion. "All this time...he killed..." he let out an irritated sound and scowled, trying once more to leave. Sasuke kept his grip tight; he had a feeling if he let Neji go he would do something stupid. "Let go of me, Sasuke."

With a growl he pulled the other close enough to where their noses were almost brushing "I got Madara's forces building up for a massive attack to come pounding down my door and you know something. I got a clan to protect; you _will_ tell me."

They glared at each other for a long moment before the Hyuuga looked away "Because Madara thought he killed all the Hyuuga, he's been going after Hinata-sama thinking she's the one who's the threat but in reality..." he shook his head "I don't know why she received the images but the bottom line is that she has absolutely nothing to do with Madara's defeat." His smile turned sad "You...shouldn't have bonded with me."

"_This shouldn't have happened."_

The grip on Neji's arm dropped abruptly and Sasuke stood up straight, his expression becoming cold "That's not an answer." He forced himself to remain detached; he didn't know what he'd do if he actually decided to react to _another_ rejection. Not after everything.

Shaking his head; Neji looked as if he was forcing himself to remain calm. Turning, he looked at Sasuke "You're taking it the wrong way; stop getting angry."

He bristled "Yeah well, the _last_ time you said similar words you avoided me for over two decades."

Something flashed in Neji's eyes "You didn't exactly seem that upset about it at the time."

The temperature in the room increased dramatically and without warning the vampire moved. There was a loud crashing sound as Sasuke pinned Neji against the wall, his arm against the other man's throat, his eyes blazing crimson.

"I won't ask again." _Stop doing this, Neji. I have my limits and fuck, I can't do this anymore._

Instead of looking angry, Neji looked sad and his aura reflected it. Raising a hand, he brushed his fingers along his lover's jaw line "The ability my great-grandfather had was the ability to completely control and manipulate another's aura. He was the only one recorded to have the ability. I make number two."

Eyes widening, he backed off but not away, dropping his arm. "_You're_ the one Madara's been scared of all this time?"

He ignored the question "When two individuals bond," his eyes shifted to the side "if one dies, the other dies. I'm sorry, Sasuke. If you hadn't bonded with me, eventually you would have moved on..."

Sasuke cut him off with his lips, a hand grabbing a fist full of chocolate brown hair. He didn't know what the hell was going on beyond the fact that apparently _Neji_ was the one who could set off the curse and that the Hyuuga fully expected to die doing it.

Unacceptable. He _just_ got Neji over his bullshit so they could be together; the Hyuuga owed him a good forty years of kissing his ass to make up for the past two decades at _least_. He had every intention of collecting. Something was going to be done about the situation; he didn't care what he had to do.

"Sasuke...?" Neji sounded confused as they parted and the Uchiha began to trail lips along his neck. White eyes became hooded as he tilted his head "Sasuke, I –"

"Neji." Lifting his head their gazed locked "Shut. The hell. Up." He sealed the distance between their lips once more.

xxxxx

"I'm...I'm sorry Neji-niisan," Hinata sighed "I wasn't...I mean I just..."

Her cousin put a hand over hers briefly but his smile and aura was tinted with sadness "It is fine, Hinata-sama. I understand why you did it and I am not angry."

_Just hurt._ She thought to herself and felt even worse. Neji had been nothing but kind to her since her arrival and had been teaching her many things she had never known about herself or her powers. His approaches had been genuine; he truly wished to connect with his only living relative. Even though she hadn't kept the truth from him out or malice or spite she still felt awful. More than likely, he probably thought that she didn't trust him, which wasn't the case at all.

"I am assuming," Itachi leaned back slightly in his chair as he regarded his brother and lover "that since you understand the curse that you understand your role." He frowned thoughtfully "Hinata truly has nothing to do with this at all?"

Neji shook his head "Not exactly, otherwise she wouldn't have gotten the dreams she did."

"In the dream..." she looked down at her hands "Izuna-san said he tried to reach you but couldn't." when she flickered her gaze back at him she caught the mix of emotions playing and her heart went out to him. It seemed that her cousin was always in pain somehow or another.

Then again; she had no idea how she would feel if she had watched everyone she had ever loved die...only to find out that had she known the truth, she could have stopped it. Anger, remorse, and guilt was bright within him. She could see Sasuke's aura trying to heal it as Itachi's had hers before, but the wound was obviously too deep and it wasn't even making a dent.

In Neji's mind, he could have stopped the genocide. Hinata had a feeling that was something he would never be able to forgive himself for – even though it hadn't been his fault at all.

"I see." Was the simple response "Anyway, to answer your questions Itachi-san, yes I am aware of what I need to do and no, Hinata-sama does not need to get involved. For whatever reasons –" from what Hinata could tell she had a feeling Neji knew why "the spirits could not reach me, so they approached Hinata-sama so that she could guide me to the right course of action."

"_Guide him."_

"And what exactly is that?" Itachi wanted to know.

The Hyuuga seemed to hesitate, turning to Sasuke briefly whose expression was unreadable. He turned back to Itachi "Our great-grandfather's unique ability was that he could _completely_ control another's aura. This is not the same as surface manipulation and it is not the same as hitting particular points of the body to damage or immobilize. He could change people. If you were happy he could make you depressed, if you were sad he could make you feel elated. He could make you hate something you loved, love something you hated. Anything that he wanted you to do he could just by delving deeper and actually controlling your soul."

"What...a frightening ability." The older Uchiha said. The entire room was stunned but Neji shook his head.

"Nothing that powerful comes free." He continued "To do something of that magnitude you have to sacrifice something in return. The individual has to force its own spirit into the other's to manipulate them. There is a reason why he was the only Hyuuga that actually _looked_ as if he was aging; doing something like that deteriorates your own spirit. For us, we become mortal by shortening our lifespan where before we were as ageless as the vampires. Depending on what you are trying to do depends on how much of your own spirit you must 'push' inside the other to control and manipulate it fully."

"And if you push enough, you'll die." Sasuke's voice sounded bland and uninterested but Hinata could see the myriad of emotions playing there. It looked as if he wanted to say something else but refrained.

"Yes, that is correct. If what Hinata-sama said about him practicing the forbidden arts is true, more than likely the goddess he ended up summoning has some hold over his soul. When he dies, she'd _going_ to want it. This means I would have to sever the bond first. What the curse, basically, will allow me to do is the impossible. Manipulating and controlling souls is one thing, _destroying_ them is another. I am almost one hundred percent positive that's what the curse does; it will give me the ability to kill him by destroying his spirit."

Itachi looked impressed "Is that even possible for you? Severing his tie to a goddess _and_ destroying his spirit?"

"Theoretically speaking, yes. That is assuming that the goddess has her hold on him. If not, it will make things much easier." He sighed, leaning back in his chair of the small conference room "Since this is Izanami, I _sincerely_ doubt it, but all I need is to touch him. If I can get close enough to do that I can end this once and for all."

The other Hyuuga fidgeted a bit "But...I mean...if he's so powerful..."

"He doesn't know I exist, so that helps. All I will need to do is conceal my eyes with colored contacts; Hyuuga cannot be sensed by other creatures so he would overlook me. The problem is _getting_ to him. He'll be hiding behind his army, waiting for a chance to strike."

Silence descended over the small group as everyone tried to come up with some sort of strategy. Hinata tried to go over everything that she had been shown since her arrival. She remembered how there had been the sensation that there was more to the curse that had been important. For some reason, she had a feeling Neji hadn't touched on it. Something was missing, but what?

If Neji went after Madara alone and succeeded, he would die; everyone in the room knew it and could feel it. Going off his words, there was no way a mortal could sever the bond between another mortal and a god, _then_ turn around and destroy the other's spirit. Not and survive. Everyone in the room also knew that Neji was going to do it, regardless of whether or not he had help.

She looked over at Sasuke and frowned. What would happen to the clan head if her cousin died? Just the two of them fighting their bond for so long had made them almost go mad...what would one's death do?

Once again Hinata began to feel useless. While she was glad lives weren't resting on her shoulders it didn't mean she had wished it on someone else. Her cousin had gone through so much; watching his people die, being forced to live underground, learning that he had held the power to stop the genocide, his bond with Sasuke...and now he was going to die? It didn't seem fair to her. That couldn't be the way it would end, but what could she do?

"_Guide him."_

"I'll be the bait." She blurted out and three sets of eyes snapped to her. She fought the urge to shrink in her seat. "Madara thinks I'm the threat, right? I-I could lure him out a-and then Neji-niisan could..."

"Absolutely not." She turned to Itachi who actually looked upset "You do not have to be placed in danger and so we should –"

"Let her do it." The Uchiha clan head leaned forward, resting his chin on his joined hands "Madara will suspect an ambush but he _won't_ be expecting Neji. If we play our cards right we can make it work."

The two brothers crimson gazes met and the room temperature began to increase.

"I refuse." Her lover shook his head "There are many other ways we could go about this that don't have to involve Hinata. All of us are warriors, she is _not_; putting her in danger like that –"

"Is her _choice_." Sasuke shook his head "Aniki, use your head, this is the best plan because it has the highest chance to succeed. Anything else Madara could figure out and avoid easily; having the element of surprise in our favor is key. It doesn't matter if the ambush is obvious, if anything that's the best part of it – we can make it an ambush within an ambush. Hinata won't be going out alone, we'll be there; Madara will be expecting it anyway."

Gently, she put her hand on Itachi's arm "I..." he looked at her and for a second she almost reconsidered because what she saw broke her heart. She didn't, however, because she knew this was the right path. She could feel it; there _was_ something she could do. Somehow she was important to the equation even though it wasn't a direct involvement in Madara's defeat. "I w-want...no...I have to do this." She shook her head "It's...I feel that this is right."

He took her hand "Hinata..." he looked as if he was going to try and talk her out of it again when Sasuke spoke.

"Aniki." Eyes turned to the clan head and Hinata started – he looked so _tired_. "You're not the only one with something to lose in this." Neji stiffened at the proclamation but Sasuke stood, avoiding everyone's gaze "It's almost morning. We'll discuss this more on the next rising." He quietly left the conference room and suddenly a feeling of dread filled her at his words.

Why did it feel like she had just missed something very important in those words?


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** Welp, that's it folks, last chapter. I had a lot of fun writing this, Lady told me she likes it and so I'm a happy camper. Hopefully the end won't disappoint. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

xxxxx

**9**

xxxxx

_It's...so hot..._

It was dark and yet it felt so hot, like heat from a fire. The more she struggled the hotter it became. It didn't burn, it was simply uncomfortable. She floated in this black heat for what felt like forever and then everything abruptly changed.

Then it felt as if she was drowning in a sea of light, warm and comforting. It felt familiar, as if it was a part of her. Hinata allowed herself to merely float in the warm pool, feeling quite content.

Idly, she watched as the black heat from earlier began to fill the pool of warm light. The two colors mingled, swirling and spinning; creating a black and white vortex. The colors did not merge to form shades of grey and although the black heat seemed to be more aggressive than the white warmth, they were equals. Their differences were what brought them harmony and as the colors swarmed around and began to consume her, all she felt was peace. Unity.

Eyes snapping open, Hinata waited until she focused before sitting up, shaking her head lightly. She toned down her senses after a bit of concentration so that everything wasn't so overwhelming. It was taking her a while, but she was slowly starting to adjust to the life of a vampire.

Looking down, she regarded her lover who still seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Slowly, she reached out but refrained from touching him. Her expression saddened as she took in his angular features that were borderline feminine. Hinata wasn't entirely sure if she believed in the gods either, but she definitely felt herself lucky to have him.

Sliding out of their bed, she dressed quietly and slipped out the room. Knowing her way around the estate very well at this point, she was able to sneak down to the garage and took the keys to one of the cars inside.

Nerves hit her as she looked at the Uchiha estate through her rearview mirror; breath catching as it hit her that she was truly on her way to end this once and for all. Once she was miles outside of the Uchiha main property she noticed something along the road. It looked like some sort of round object but as she neared it began to grow, rising out of the asphalt to reveal...a man. Or at least, she thought it was a man.

Her foot slammed on the break pedal to keep from hitting the strange male with...what _was_ he? Green hair, half of his body white, the other black, with creepy yellow eyes. He was wearing a very fancy business suit and looked amused at her expression. Slowly, he walked over to the passenger side and slid into the car.

"I will be your guide to Madara." Even his voice sounded creepy. He nodded up ahead "Keep driving."

Nervous and wary, she shifted gears and drove on.

"_His name is Zetsu and he is good at infiltration._" Itachi had explained to her _"Contact him but go out of your way to be as discreet about it as possible. You going to them to stop this war before it begins is something they will be expecting, as well as a potential ambush. Madara will agree, because he doesn't want to take on all the clans if he can help it. When you reach him, stall him. We cannot follow too close so for a while...you will be on your own."_

"U-um..." she spared the strange creature a small glance; he kept looking straight ahead but she had a feeling she had his attention. "What you said...over the phone." she sounded nervous and afraid, which was not at all an act. Hinata was terrified and unsure about the entire thing. She didn't want to die and despite the strong front she had put up in front of everyone she really wasn't that brave. "He's...r-really not going to hurt me?"

Madara's minion smiled "He has no intentions of harming you, Hyuuga-san. He wishes to talk, just as you do, and come up with a more peaceful solution to the problem."

He was lying and it took a lot for her not to react to it. Itachi had told her to stall him but what if he just killed her outright? There would be nothing she could do; she couldn't fight or anything.

"O-oh." She kept her hands firmly on the steering wheel "So he really w-will stop the a-attack? He won't..."

"Yes, he will." Another lie but it was a half lie so she could only assume that Madara wouldn't attack now but in the future. Had Madara guessed that she would do something like this and had tried to lure her out? It seemed strange but not unlikely.

The drive was actually incredibly long; she had counted three hours at least. They had gone well out of the city and beyond. When they got off the highway she noticed that they seemed to be heading towards the mountains. They trailed off to a dirt road in the woods and she started to become confused; feeling apprehensive and yet soothed. There was something peaceful about the area, familiar.

When she stepped out of the car finally with Zetsu, she was faced with a very small cabin in an obviously man made clearing. The lights were on inside but she couldn't see anyone. Neji had told her that in time, she would be able to adjust her sight so that she could see auras even though walls, but she wasn't skilled enough at her current level.

"Come. He is waiting for you."

She sent a silent prayer up to any gods that might be listening. Hinata wasn't devout but it sure as hell wouldn't hurt if someone answered. Better safe than sorry.

There was power resonating from the house and some of it was malicious and dark, but there was something else. It felt buried but ready; as if waiting for a command to be unleashed. She frowned slightly, still confused.

"U-um...this place...could you tell me...?"

"This is where it all began for the Hyuuga and Uchiha." Zetsu said quietly "Since it was where it began, he wanted it to end here as well."

_I see he enjoys irony..._ she thought darkly as she walked through the opened door and into the cabin itself. It was very small, a large room with a long table and two darkened areas that looked as if they could be smaller rooms. Her face paled, because Zetsu was not joking and this truly was the place where Madara had killed her great-grandfather. Like in her dream. It sank in then that she probably wouldn't be able to stall him in time.

_He's going to kill me..._

A hand settled on her shoulder "Hello, Hyuuga Hinata." The voice sounded deep and pleasant but in a sickingly-sweet way. Hinata slowly turned to take in the masked man and her blood ran cold as she began to tremble.

Madara.

"I'm glad you could make it."

_No...Itachi...Itachi I'm so, so sorry._

He raised his sword to strike.

xxxxx

"Where the hell is he taking her, _Hokkiado_?" Sasuke grumbled as Itachi drove, following Hinata through their bond instead of anything visual. "We've been on the road for _hours_; if I had known, I would have gone before we left or something."

White eyes shifted over to the man sitting beside him and narrowed "You didn't just _seriously_ say that, did you?"

Sasuke turned to his lover "What, are you irritated?"

The Hyuuga scoffed "Well, it is rather juvenile of you to do something so simplistically foolish...so yes I'm a little irritated."

He shrugged "Good, mission accomplished."

Silence. Then "I am going to kill you Uchiha Sasuke. Painfully."

"I'm pretty sure that's death threat number ten thousand and fifty and yet I'm still alive."

"You've been counting?"

"No, I just wanted to piss you off by saying that. Did it work?"

"Sasuke, you..."

Kiba, who was sitting shotgun, stared at Itachi "_Why_ did you allow them to sit beside each other in a _car_?" the Inuzuka really wanted to know "Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji, plus confined spaces equals a really bad day." He looked annoyed.

Itachi smiled slightly, taking in how the two, despite their arguing, were sitting close and were both obviously amused. Knowing them, they were probably doing it just because it would piss Kiba off. Those two really were a handful "Children, behave."

"He started it." That was his little brother who had actually put an arm around his boyfriend even though he was being glared at. It gave Itachi a bitter sweet feeling.

_Trying to enjoy their last moments together, it seems._

Was it possible to save Neji? His brother hadn't said anything one way or the other on how he felt about it but when Sasuke was silent about important things it was because they affected him deeply. His little brother tended to shut himself off emotionally to deal with stressful situations; had the two of them even talked about it?

Suddenly, a very dark chill went up Itachi's spine and a thick sensation of there something being terribly wrong hit him.

_Hinata..._ Something was wrong, what...

"Itachi!" Kiba's hands snapped to the wheel to steady the car as its driver suddenly pitched forward in pain, his hand flying to his left shoulder. Sasuke was there, pulling his brother back to make things easier for Kiba as he tried to right the swerving car. They ended up running off the dirt road and Sasuke let out a light curse.

"Shit. Aniki you're bleeding. What the hell...?"

Grunting, the older brother tried to sit up "Hinata...she's..."

"Neji!" Kiba jumped out of the car as the Hyuuga bolted from the back seat and started running at a speed he didn't think a supposed 'human' could accomplish. What the hell was Neji anyway? He wasn't a bloodsucker, he would have smelled it...but he was obviously not human. "Damnit." He turned towards the car "Uchiha!"

"I know!" Growling, he got out the car and almost ripped the driver side door off its hinges "Can you move?"

"Yes." Hand on his shoulder, crimson eyes narrowed as Itachi straightened. "I was merely startled; this will not slow me down." He looked at his brother briefly "Hinata is in danger, I am taking to the air." Without waiting for a response he did just that and Sasuke turned to the lycanthrope.

"Sorry, can't fly." Kiba shrugged as his body began to shift and contort "But I'm not slow on land either. Hyuuga?"

Eyes narrowing, Sasuke coolly took in his shifting arm "I'll follow. Neji's got his ways; he'll probably even get there before us."

"The hell is he?" was the last question that came from the Inuzuka as his body completely shifted to that of a very large dark brown canine.

"Dead if we don't get to him in time." _Dead regardless..._His voice and eyes were cold as his own transformation completed.

Without any further delay Kiba shot forward in the direction Neji went, a massive black wolf with crimson eyes right behind him.

xxxxx

Itachi crashed through the canopy as he shoved his hand through the chest cavity of his enemy, eyes cold and emotionless. He used the quickly dying body as a cushion when they landed and without hesitation the body burst into black flames. Standing, he began to move forward, his eyes taking in the shadows moving rapidly to surround him. He did not have time for this.

With a burst of speed he headed towards the closest enemy, taking him completely by surprise. His eyes narrowed as he took in the fact that he, and possibly the others, were turned vampires.

"If you value your lives," his voice was low and deadly as he passed the other man "you will not follow me." His gaze took in the widened and fearful eyes of the masked male before he continued forward. He was not followed.

_Hinata._ None of those men had been any of Madara's elite but if the reports of all of them being placed in strategic areas for the building attack as generals were correct he didn't expect to run into many.

He grunted when pain lanced through his leg and he felt blood trickle down even though his clothes were intact. If Madara killed Hinata...if he truly killed her...there wouldn't be a god or a devil that would stop him from the things he would do to that man in his wrath.

Eyes narrowed as he deftly moved out of the way of being side swiped by a clawed hand. Twisting, he landed in a crouch before standing, regarding his enemy.

"Uchiha Itachi." Zetsu greeted "This is as far as you go."

"I will give you but one warning, for this time, I will kill all of you. Stand aside." When all the other man did was smile red eyes seemed to glow as he raised a clawed hand, black flames emerging. "Very well." He charged forward.

_Hinata, hang on..._

xxxxx

He was toying with her. His laughter filled the woods as she struggled forward, blood dripping from her left arm and right leg. She had all sorts of other cuts and scrapes and she was practically dragging her body along but he wouldn't kill her. Instead, he walked at a slow pace, laughing and taunting her.

"Do you know how much I have suffered since this curse was placed on me?" his voice seemed to echo all around her and she squeezed her eyes shut briefly, hot tears slipping through. "I was unable to properly pay him back, so it's only fitting that his last relative stand in his place, don't you agree?"

Leg finally giving out, she scooted back until her back was pressed up against a tree, panting. This was it, she was going to die. She was really going to die.

"Is that it?" Madara emerged from the shadows, sword over his shoulder "I thought you were supposed to be some sort of warrior, I feel like I'm kicking around a baby kitten. How...unsporting and anti-climatic." He began to close the distance "I was going to have you suffer, but you're so weak and pathetic I don't even feel like wasting the energy." Kneeling down, he took his free hand and raised her chin, tilting his head to the side to regard her. "Pathetic." He repeated "This was what I was worried about all this time? It _almost_ makes me feel bad for killing off your race."

Leaning forward, she could hear the smile in his voice as he continued to speak, his thumb wiping at her tears "When you meet that old bastard in hell, ask him if it was worth it when his goddess obviously abandoned your pathetic race by sending _you_ to kill me."

"Madara?" both stiffened at the new comer's voice "Wrong Hyuuga."

He narrowly avoided having his skull caved in from Neji's kick and was forced to stagger back and away. His visible eye widened with obvious surprise but he was given no time to recover as the other male rushed towards him with incredible speed for a human...

"Wait." He had been completely off guard; it was if the man had appeared out of thin air. "Who are you...better yet, _what_ are you?"

Neji's answer was to launch into a series of rapid attacks that he was too stunned but to do little but dodge. Jumping back, he regarded the man who was shifting into a stance he knew all too well. He was able to get a good look at his face and started.

White eyes. Those veins surrounding them...and he looked just like that bastard. That was impossible, there was no way he could have missed _both_ Hyuuga, especially when he could sense that this one was much older than the girl. "Who –"

Whatever it was Madara had been about to ask, Neji obviously didn't want to hear it as he went on the offensive again. The markings on his face began to burn hotly with every missed swing. By the time he finally snapped out of his shock and struck the Hyuuga had done so as well. His sword sliced through Neji's shoulder but his enemy had a very solid grip on his chest; right where the heart was.

"You missed one. Too bad." His fingers actually began to sink through flesh and deeper still. The Uchiha was unable to move, the markings were actually searing through his skin but he couldn't move, couldn't cry out – the Hyuuga had full control.

Hinata watched in awe as the two men stood there, one hand embedded into one's chest and a sword speared through the other's shoulder. It was hauntingly beautiful, the way Neji's white aura seemed to invade and overwhelm the darker red aura. It wasn't just his aura, there was something else there. It was golden, felt incredibly warm and she remembered this same warmth from her dream. The golden glow became brighter and brighter, to the point where Hinata had to shield her eyes.

Something seemed to erupt from the two males and both were shot back, hitting the ground hard. Both were unmoving, Neji's chest was still.

Hands gripped her shoulders and she screamed until she realized it was Itachi. His eyes were full of worry but his expression was blank as his hands began to move over her to inspect her injuries "Hinata, are you alright?"

Her other hand flew to her mouth and she shook her head, fresh tears spilling as she tried to move away from him "Neji-niisan!" he wasn't moving and she...she couldn't see his aura at all. He glanced at the still body and tensed. Madara was also not moving and Itachi could sense nothing from the male. Was he truly...?

"There you guys are!" Kiba and Sasuke emerged, both with torn and bloody clothes. Hinata's eyes snapped to the Uchiha who looked deathly pale and was sweating. His gaze immediately locked onto Neji's prone form. "Damn, you have no idea the guys we had to kill to get here..."

"_Neji_." It was a hoarse whisper as Sasuke's knees sank onto the cold ground, his gaze unfocused. Very slowly, he staggered back to his feet, inching his way towards the other male. His hand was over his chest and he seemed to be struggling to breathe. There was stunned silence as Hinata quickly began to realize what was happening.

"If...one dies...they both die..."

The grip on her shoulders caused her to look at Itachi whose eyes were wide "What?" his hand went to his injured shoulder, took in her injury and then his face paled. "No." he began to stand "Sasuke –"

Kiba was confused at the exchange as he walked over to the injured Hinata "What the hell is going on here?"

Grunting, the younger Uchiha fell back down on his knees beside the unmoving Hyuuga, head hanging. His hand reached out, shaky as he pulled hair away from his lover's face. "So that's how it is." His voice was a whisper. When Itachi called out his name again his head rose and everyone paused.

He was smiling. Although he was obviously in pain, he also seemed to be at peace. "Huh." His eyes slowly closed and he collapsed.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion for Hinata. Itachi was at his brother's side, pulling the clan head into his arms with Kiba beside him. They were speaking but she couldn't hear, could only watch as the man she loved pull his brother as close as he dared.

"He's dead."

No, this wasn't...it wasn't _fair_. This couldn't be how it was supposed to end. Why did the curse have to take Neji's life as well? It wasn't fair, _nothing_ could have been done? Her great-grandfather just put his race through a bunch of sacrifices...to kill one man?

"_Guide him._" The voice...it was familiar but not. It wasn't Izuna's voice, this one felt older and richer. _"Guide him."_ It insisted.

Kiba and Itachi looked up at her with confusion as Hinata slowly stood and began to stagger towards the group. She didn't know what was going on, she didn't understand any of it at all, but she suddenly had an overwhelming urge to touch her cousin. Why, she had no idea, only that she _had_ to do it.

"Hinata..." that was Itachi but she ignored him, her focus on reaching her cousin. Flopping down beside him, she slowly reached out her hand.

The moment her skin touched his she was encased in a white void and she gasped, standing. It took her only a second to realize that she wasn't in any pain and that her wounds were suddenly healed.

"_Ah, so you've arrived, little Hyuuga._"

The voice was definitely feminine and that warm golden glow she kept sensing appeared but actually took on the shape of a woman. She had no features and yet she seemed to be wearing fine golden clothes. She had no lips and yet she smiled.

"_You who are of my light," _she took a step forward _"I shall fulfill my part of the bargain."_

"Y-you can...bring them back?" Hinata felt so warm and comfortable and even though she wanted to be worried about her cousin and his lover she felt strangely calm and at peace.

"_To one I gave my light, to the other I gave my wrath. To you, for him," _a finger pressed against her_ forehead "I gave my heart, that which is of me and binds my light and my wrath. Little Hyuuga, you will guide them home."_

Hinata gasped loudly as she was suddenly snapped back to reality. Before anyone could say anything to her, she turned to Itachi, eyes wide as everything became as clear as day for her "To the Hyuuga she gave them their ability to see and change; her light. And to the Uchiha..." one of her hands touched Itachi's shoulder and the other touched Sasuke's arm. "W-we...we have to give back what she gave us, so we can bring them back. All of us. That's the price."

Itachi clearly didn't understand "Hinata..."

She shook her head. She knew what to do but not how to say it "My g-great-grandfather; he couldn't save the person who would activate the curse s-so when he summoned Amaterasu he begged her to spare his descendent...I-I think he knew Madara would...

"B-but nothing comes for free and he had already given his life for the curse s-so...she chose Neji-niisan, whose soul mate was an Uchiha and I was c-chosen to link and balance the other payment for the other soul...your brother."

"Payment?" His arms still around his brother, he frowned "Why does it have to be an Uchiha and a Hyuuga?"

"Because she's the one who gave us our abilities to begin with and because we're one in the same. One was her light and the other her wrath, and besides Madara, you two are the only ones that can summon her wrath."

His eyes widened as he began to understand "Our ability to produce the black fire." She nodded "So for Sasuke's soul we must give up our powers and then one of them must give up theirs. How do we do this?"

"Th-through me. Please continue to hold Sasuke-san." She placed her hand on Neji's arm and closed her eyes.

Then she was floating in the vortex of her dream; the constant mingling of black and white which never dominated but never blended. It stayed in perfect balance, united yet independent.

Her feet touched the ground and she saw them then. They stood side by side, one black one white. They turned to her, one engulfed in black flame, one engulfed in a white light, flowing the same as someone's aura. Besides their outward shape there were no other features.

"Did Amaterasu tell you?" she asked them and they nodded. "It's...your choice. Great-grandfather only gave us the opportunity but we..." she cut herself off when they closed the distance. They turned their heads to each other and then turned back to her, holding out their hands. Fighting back tears, she took their hands and immediately the flame and the light went out, revealing the two males fully.

"Let's go."

xxxxx

"So, you really can't see auras anymore?" Sasuke's arms wrapped around his lover as the other male leaned back against him, both turning their gaze towards the night sky from the window sill.

"Yes, anything involving that I no longer have. Hinata-sama also has lost her ability. We have our other abilities –"

"You have other abilities?" a dark brow rose and Neji chuckled lightly.

"Yes. We can still tell when someone is lying, we were always a race adapt with magic – as well as being resilient towards it." He shook his head "It is fine, a power like that...that is not something I wish to burden myself with any longer." His eyes closed "It seemed to bring nothing but unhappiness."

The Uchiha snorted "I _guess_; if you just want to look at the negatives. There were positives too, like when you'd do that one thing –"

"_Anyway,_ you have lost you ability as well, correct?"

"Yeah." His arms tightened "But you know...it was always more of a burden than anything else for me. Hard to control, even after three hundred years. It was a little annoying. And then there was..." leaning his head back, he sighed "Even Itachi almost hurt Hinata; it just doesn't feel worth it in the long run. I'm sure he agrees."

There was thoughtful silence before Neji spoke up "Sasuke? About...I mean where do we..." he sounded frustrated and the Uchiha shifted until he pulled Neji back far enough to slide his lips over the other's. When he pulled back his dark gaze was serious.

"Neji. I'm going to say this only once. That night you rejected me, it wasn't because I didn't care that I left like I did. It was because I was so damn infuriated I had actually wanted to hurt you." His lover stiffened in his arms "I know where I stand but this back and forth..."

"I understand." He sighed "And I have no desire to go anywhere. After all, you'd be worthless as a leader without me. How you ran the clan as long as you did on your own with some semblance of competency is beyond me." He shifted so that he was partly straddling the Uchiha, wrapping his arms around him "Oh, and I want my pay raise _as well_ as you replacing the shirt you callously _destroyed_..."

There was the sound of ripping fabric as Sasuke, with a blank expression on his face, sliced one sharp nail down the middle of Neji's silk shirt. His brows rose "Oops. Was that your favorite and very expensive silk shirt? How _callous_ of me."

Silence. Neji sat there, staring at a stone faced Uchiha. They squared off. Closing his eyes briefly, Neji stood slid out of his split shirt, walked over to a dresser and pulled out another one. Slowly, he put the shirt on and started to head for the door.

Obviously, this confused the Uchiha "Where are you going?"

"To find a shovel. I'm going to do some late night gardening." He closed the door behind him.

"The hell? A shovel?" he frowned thoughtfully for a good minute before he froze. Then he burst into motion.

"Neji!" he rushed out the room "I swear to the gods if you touch even _one_ tomato down there I'm going to _destroy_ your entire wardrobe!"

xxxxx

Hinata sighed "They're at it again."

"Hm?" Itachi smiled as he wrapped his arms around her middle. "Hn. It sounds serious this time. Neji's going for the tomatoes; Sasuke must have seriously pissed him off."

"Tomatoes?" she clearly didn't get it and he laughed.

"My brother, while he doesn't actually grow them himself, has a green house that houses a rather large section of tomato plants. It's one of his favorite foods and he's too picky to eat one from a grocers, so he has them grown. If he's threatening Neji's wardrobe, something your cousin takes pride in since some of the clothes are somewhat difficult to find, we will probably see them in bandages tomorrow. If Sasuke touches any of the Loius Vuitton...well we'll probably have to go and stop them from actually killing each other. He does a lot of things for the clan as Sasuke's advisor which is why he's always so concerned with his appearance – he's representing the clan."

He tilted his head to get a better look at her when he noticed her frowning "Hinata? Is something the matter?"

"So...Sasuke-san _also_ likes to cut up people's clothes." She sounded upset , which really only made her sound cute, and he kissed her cheek.

"Hn." His hands began to slide up her sides as he nuzzled her neck "Perhaps, we merely like to see you with the least amount of clothes as possible in the shortest amount of time possible." He smiled when she started blushing. "And I already said I would buy you a better one for...whatever it was I apparently cut up. I don't even remember really."

Hinata spun on him and pushed at his chest "See! You did it again!"

He blinked once. "...I did what again?"

"T-that...you said you'd buy me a _better_ one! What was wrong with the one I had? I liked that one. And bras really are expensive, you know."

The two stared at each other, Hinata looking huffy and Itachi staring blankly at her. He raised one finger. "It would seem that..." he ignored her shocked gasp as the sharp nail sliced through her shirt and bra "you Hyuuga do not seem to appreciate the advantages concerning lack of clothing." He shifted then and she let out a small yelp as he pulled her over his shoulder.

"Obviously, Sasuke has been unable to educate Neji in this," he said calmly as he walked towards their bed. "but I have almost two hundred years more experience than him and..." she giggled as he plopped her on the bed, crawling up to her as she backed away "while I would not consider myself to be a _vain_ individual," his hand slid up her thigh as he trailed his fangs lightly over her neck "rarely have I ever done anything that I was not absolutely _perfect_ in." he smiled against her lips as he leaned in. "I am also, unlike my brother, a very patient individual and I do not mind going over..._materials_ repeatedly. So begins lesson one." He murmured just before he kissed her.


End file.
